


"Yes, Sir!"

by SnowBaz_In_Jeans



Category: Carry On Series - Rainbow Rowell
Genre: I Tried, M/M, Magic, Tyrannus Basilton "Baz" Pitch Is Gay for Simon Snow, a little smut, may be slightly cheezy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-12
Updated: 2018-10-12
Packaged: 2019-07-29 22:28:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 24,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16273658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnowBaz_In_Jeans/pseuds/SnowBaz_In_Jeans
Summary: Simon is back at Watford after 5 years to be a teachers assistant. Baz isn't so happy about that.Or maybe he is.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! It's been a while. This story took wayy to long for me to finish. But it is the longest one I have ever posted, so I hope you like it :D
> 
> Read this while listening to your favorite playlist. It makes the scenes less cheesy and cuter. 
> 
> Insta: snowbaz_in_jeans
> 
> Enjoy ♥︎

**✶✶✶**

**B A Z**

Teenagers are so bloody annoying. It makes one wonder why they would ever voluntarily chose to be surrounded by them for days upon end. I tower over a student who looks about ready to melt into the chair. The thought of being that intimidating makes me smirk. I don't know why any teacher would want to be more than just acquaintances with these numpties.

"S-sir I swear! I did it exact-"

"Well you obviously didn't, because now look what you've done," I point to his desk which has, instead of a blooming summer rose, a green frog that I'm not sure is even alive. It stares back at me so I look away.

"B-but Malcolm sai-"

"Is Mr. Harris the teacher, Arian, or am I?"

"Y-you are... Sir," He drops his head down, looking at his lap. His wand rests on the place beside the not-alive frog.

"You will be called in after classes to properly learn this spell," I don't wait for his reply and walk back to the front where an array of frightened, bored, and tired faces greet me. After a few more - not successful - spells, class get dismissed.

I slump back in my chair and allow myself to run my hands through my hair. I have last period free and so the only thing left for me to do is grade some papers and then host detentions. I would go as far as to say I'm infamous for my lovely detentions.

A few hours pass with me hunched over some papers with the shouts and screams of children curse through the walls. It's probably dinner time by now, and my watch confirms that. After making sure the door to the classroom is locked - I have grown a habit to do that because some nasty teenagers think it's funny to pull pranks - I make my way to the Fraternity house which is where the teacher's residence is. Before teaching here, I had only been in this building a handful of times. My room is on the topmost floor, looking over the moat and the hills beyond. It's weird to be in Watford an not see what I've been used to for 8 years. Sometimes it sends a ping through my chest but like everything else, I push it away.

I rest my bag on the foot of the bed and loosen my tie. I'm just about to unbuckle my belt when there is a know on my door. See the thing is, no one ever knocks on my door, so I think I imagine it when it repeats again.

"Baz! The Mitali has called us all to the Lawn! I know you're in there!" Booms a voice belonging to Dev. He now coaches the football team meaning he probably stinks right now behind the door.

"BAZ!" He pounds on the door, " _BASILTON GR-"_

"Crowly Dev, I was just putting on a pair of trousers."

"Mhmm whatever, she said this was important."

"Is the world ending for a second time?" I mutter, shutting the door behind me.

"Ha ha ha. You think you're so funny."

"Yes, indeed I do," We walk towards the crowd that has pilled up on the Lawn. The students are sat chatting except for some nasty eight years who are tickling a feather on some poor girls neck.

I went and stood at the far corner of the crows where the rest of the teachers were. Everyone was feverishly chatting away at what this could be about, and anticipation drenched the atmosphere.

"Good Evening students and teachers! I know this was a sudden call, but I have some very exciting news. We have been trying for months now to get in contact with someone who has made a big difference to Watford. He gave up a lot to get us where we are now, and we thought it would be a good idea to bring him back home for this school year. I presume all of you already know who I speak about, but tomorrow morning we will have our Chosen One, back at Watford!" There was silence and then a rushed chatter and excitement bubbled up. Everyone was laughing and I saw Penelope, the Headmistresses daughter smile a small smile that was very rarely seen by her.

I felt my blood run cold.

Of course, whenever I move on with my life, create another meaning for myself, Simon Snow has to waltz back in and remind everyone that he's the star of the show.

Crowley, I need a drink.

*******

**S I M O N**

Breathe in, out, in, out. You will be fine. You will not explode, or make people drunk of magic. You will politely smile and greet everyone.

Yeah, that wasn't working. I was still pissing my pants while in the cab drive back to Watford (I did check to make sure the driver was a hundred percent human).

I got the message a mere over two weeks ago from Mitali. At first, I had thought something had happened to Penny, but she informed me that I could come back for a five-year reunion and talk about what I had gone through in my eighth year. She said I didn't have to, and she knows it was beyond something that could be described, but I didn't want to let her down. So I told her I would. And now I'm at a back of a cab, on a cold November morning back to Watford. I can't help but let the nostalgia in, and I know it's going to show in my face. I go over the last time I had gone down this road, and I try to remember the things I used to miss. My list of things.

Sour cherry scones.

I decided that I will always miss these, no matter where I go, no one makes scones that taste like the ones at Watford. I almost can't even remember what they tasted like, but I know that they are the first thing I am going to look for. I hope they still make them.

Penny. 

Merlin, I miss her. We did try to stay in contact, but because everything happened so suddenly, it was like my whole life happened in that week. And I just couldn't. I tried to disappear and I tried to control my magic. I got a small job, bought a tiny apartment, and lived a very mundane life. The last five years have felt like someone else had temporarily made a home in my body, and now going back to Watford, they decided to let me take over again.

The football pitch. 

I am certain that saving the world does not imply better football skills. So I probably still suck. But I miss sitting on the bleachers and hearing the roar of boys who had kicked a ball into the net.

My uniform. 

I think I might ask if they have a spare one to lend me. I could wear different pieces of it with some of my own clothes and no one will know. I am tired of wearing clothes that smell like someone else and have holes in weird places.

My room. 

Bloody hell I miss that room. I miss the fact that it was not that big, but big enough so that it took more than just 3 steps to get from one end to the other. I miss the feel of a mattress that didn't hurt your back like laying on wood. I miss the window, and the clean bathroom and I miss even the presence of Baz lurking about.

The Mage. 

I guess I don't really miss him anymore. I just think about him and then get a little angry, but then I feel guilty for being upset with someone who is dead. It's not nice to speak ill of the dead I heard. 

Magic. 

I think this is what I miss the most now. I miss casting horribly incorrect spells and just being around people who also were magickal. I miss the feeling of it coursing through my veins. I can still feel it sometimes, but it goes away quickly because I don't think my landowner would appreciate it if I blew up the flat. My wand might as well have cobwebs on it for lack of use.

Ebb. 

Oh, Crowley, I miss Ebb. I still don't feel like she's gone, but then a stab in my chest reminds me of everything that I lost. I wonder if I could still go into her house and pet the goats. I don't know if that will just be adding salt to the wounds, or getting closure.

The Wavering Woods. 

I miss the woods in general. I miss going outside and not smelling the trash or the faint scent of gasoline and smoke.

Agatha. 

I don't really have anything to say for her. She left and I haven't seen her since. I wonder if she's going to be at Watford, but then again, even if she was invited she would never voluntarily come. But I do sometimes miss her, we had a few good years and that's not easy to forget.

The cab pulls up in front of the gates and I can't move. The driver looks at me with a hint of annoyance and juts his head to the side, indicating that I should get out. I merely smile and get out, slamming the door shut harder than I mean to because my nerves are what is controlling me right now.

I put my hand on the metal of the door and read the inscription over and over. I want to remember all of this, all of a life that I used to live. I didn't dream it. I didn't make it up. And I want my future self to know that. The doors open and I think I might cry. It feels like home. I instantly feel the collective magic of all the students and faculty and just the magic of Watford itself.

The Great Lawn is crowded with students who are just getting done with breakfast, some who are scribbling down homework, some laying on the grass sleeping. It reeks of magic and I think I'm falling in love with it all over again. I shouldn't have come.

I don't know where to go. Do I go to the Weeping Tower to look for Milatli? What if that isn't the headmaster's chambers anymore? Do I go to the teachers building? The dining hall? I think the last suggestion sounds the best and my stomach grumbles in agreement. I start to walk to the Weeping Tower when a girl, I think fifth year stops me.

"Your Simon Snow!" She says the last word like she just made a huge revelation. I give her a poor excuse of a smile.

"Umm... Yeah, that would be me."

"Oh my! Everyone is talking about you!" I get nervous looking at her with all that excitement and her eyes are huge. I worry she's going to draw more attention to me, but then I wonder about what she said. Is this a bigger deal than I thought? I didn't know everyone was going to know. I just thought I would see some old classmates, give a speech and be done with it. I feel the anxiety start to creep in.

"Oh everyone, huh? Well then, I should probably get to that..." I wave my arms in the general direction of the Tower.

"Oh yeah sorry," She gives me a quick smile and lets me be. Now I wish I hadn't done that because it would give me more time to prepare myself.

I see some students hurrying out of the dining hall and I slip past the door before it closes, not wanting to make a big entrance, unlike _some_ people.

I look around the room and feel myself travel back in time. Me on the first day here with no one to sit with. Me in fifth year laughing at something Penny had said. Me in eighth year eating here for the last time. And then I feel someone grab my arm and I am smothered in an array of purple hair and the scent that I know so well.

"Penny!" My voice comes out croaked like I just finished crying, or am going to start to.

"Simon bloody Snow you absolute arse!" She holds my face with her hands on either side. I feel a happy tear slide down my face. Just being around her makes me feel more like me than I have in the last 5 years.

"I- I missed you too."

"After this, you and I are having a long talk about the act of letter writing or sending a message," I laugh because I think my heart will burst of happiness.

"How are you?" I look at her and she looks so ... grown up. Except she still has that crazy hair and that penetrating look of _Penny_.

"How am I? Oh man, I'm good. How is life being a teacher?" I give her a playful look.

"Like walking on bloody sunshine," She rolls her eyes and hugs me briefly again. I then notice that people are trying - and failing - not to stare at us.

"So, umm... how does this work?" I ask as she leads me to the back where there is a table full of - I presume - the teachers.

"Well you basically will be going class to class sometimes and be like a teachers assistant, except you will be giving your input and making the class more interesting," She shoots me a smile and introduces me to the table. I'm surprised to see Dev who is the new football coach, but other than that, I don't know anyone else. At the end of the table sits the Headmistress, Mitali Bunce. She looks kind of untouchable and reminds me a little of Penny, but she smiles at me like no time has passed by and gestures to a place next to her.

"Simon! I hope you are well. I was surprised when I heard back from you. I was sure I'd gotten the wrong address."

"No. No. The address was right," I look at my hands that have a cut on the palm from a glass that I'd broken two days ago, "it was very unexpected though."

"I just thought that you could teach the students something about dealing with real-world problems, judging by what you've gone through."

"Well," I look at her friendly face, "I will try my best. Though you should know I'm not the best public speaker."

"Well you can't be good at everything," She does something between a smirk and a smile and hands me heaven on a plate. Sour cherry scones.

This makes everything that has yet to come worth it.

*******

**B A Z**

I don't know when I expected the tragedy that is Simon Snow to get here, but I should've known the first place I would see him was at the dining hall stuffing his face full of scones and smiling without a care in the world.

Something about that picture, as I entered the dining hall sent me back to staring at him from across tables and snarling. He had his back turned to me, but everyone and anyone would know it's Snow from just the mop of bronze on his head.

I got to the table and sat at the edge furthest away, but also getting a good look at him, for the sheer purpose of curiosity of course. He was smiling with his mouth full and his hair in his eyes. He had gotten thinner, reminding me of a younger Simon coming back after summer with only skin and bones. I could see the sharp line of his jaw and the annoyingly blue of his eyes. But I could also see the thinness in his arms and the tiredness under his eyes. Though that did not make him any less alive.

I hated him right there and then all over again.

He got up and murmured something to Mitali and she gestured for him to follow Penny. They were probably going to his room. I watched him get out of the dining hall, and as the door closed, I felt the breath return in my lungs.

This was going to be a long year.

*******

**S I M O N**

Penny was showing me to the room that was supposed to be mine. We were going up the stairs of the Fraternity House, which is where the teachers stayed. We reached the top floor and there were only two rooms. Neither looked like anyone had lived in them in years.

"So this one is yours," She put my thumb on the pad next to the door, and the handle clicked open. The room was bigger than anyone I had lived in since Watford. There was a bed in the corner, a door to the bathroom adjacent to it, and a window on the front wall. The corners of the wall didn't have spiders, and the window actually opened, and the room didn't stink of piss.

It was way better than anything I had lived in.

"I know it isn't as big as your student room, bu-"

"No, it's enough," I turned from where I was standing in the middle of the room, to face her. And for the second time today, I flashed her a genuine smile.

"Well, I'll let you get settled in," She eyed my small duffle bag, and then the backpack on my back.

"Okay," My voice came out breathless as she closed the door and left me there. I set down the bags against the wall and immediately opened the window, not caring for the cold air. I missed this.

There was a small closest on the side of the bed, and there was a perfectly ironed pair of Watford pajamas in my size. My heart suddenly felt like it would burst again because I knew that this was Penny's doing. I had to ask her about the uniform later too.

I changed into the pajamas and laid down on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. I was here. I was not dreaming, and everything was as close to perfect as it could be. Then I remembered something. I went back across the room and retrieved my wand from the bottom of the bag. It still looked alright. I don't think wands have an expiration date. I decided to try it out, knowing I would be slightly rusty on my magic skills.

I got out my clothes I was wearing when I came here and saw the shirt had dirt from the lack of washing.

" **Clean as a whistle!** " I pointed the wand at my shirt and to my surprise, I found an actual whistle in replacement. Shit. That was what I was going to wear tomorrow, it was my nicest smelling and looking shirt. I had to find Penny and ask her if there was something else I could wear. I twisted open the door and a gasp fell from my lips.

 _Baz_.

Holy shit. Baz. Was here! Right now. In front of me.

My brain stopped functioning. He heard me gasp and turned around, his face mirroring mine in surprise. Though he had more of a snarl to it.

"Snow."

"B-Baz?! W- wh- how- What are you doing here?" I already knew what he was doing here, it just seemed like I couldn't make up anything else to say.

"I see age has not improved your speech," He shakes his head like he cares.

"I- but .. How are you here?"

"Snow," He looked me dead in the eyes and I feel all the inches I lack, "There are people living here other than you."

"But you-you're a teacher?"

"That is correct," He nods at me like I'm a student who guessed the correct answer. I suddenly felt very sorry for the poor students who had to undergo his class. But then I realized I would have to undergo his class. My mood suddenly turned sour.

"So you just stayed here after finishing school," He leans against the doorway to his room, arms folded.

"Oh so now you want to share life stories?" He raised a perfectly done eyebrow at me.

"No. No of course not," I shake my head and remember why I even got out of my room in the first place. I look at the silver whistle in my hands and turn in the direction of the stairs.

"Hey, have you seen Penny?" He turns around, already halfway in his room.

"She's probably puking from seeing your face again," And then shuts the door.

Like no time has passed by.

✶✶✶

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need to mention if you want to read a more... PG version of this, you can read it on my wattpad with the same username.

✶✶✶

**S I M O N**

I do eventually find Penny wandering about near the Cloisters. She was chatting to a first-year who looked scared out of her wits. I felt for her honestly.

"Hey, Pen," I walked up to her and put my hand on her shoulder, she shot me a look and then got a full look at my outfit.

"Simon, are you wearing... Watford Pajamas?"

"Umm... yeah? Didn't you leave them in the closet?"

"I thought you would like them," She smiles and murmured something to the girl as she left.

"I was wondering if you have more uniforms... preferably in my size?" I sneakily smile at her.

"Simon, why in the bloody hell would you want to wear that again?"

"Because I accidentally turned my shirt into..." I show her the small whistle in my hand. She gasps at me.

"And you don't have any other shirts?"

"I do... but they aren't the ... best," It wasn't that I was generally picky about what I wear. I just didn't want other people to know the way of life that I lived.

"Oh, Simon," She looks at me, not in pity, but like she could have done something. And instantly I feel the guilt ward through me. This is on no one but me. She shouldn't have to feel bad for the mistakes that I made.

"You know its not your fa-"

"I know. I know. But Simon I'm still your best friend, and the only person you had - have. I should have tried harder," She looks at the ground. The thing that makes this all worse is that she doesn't even know the half of it. She just knows that I am no better now than I was living at the orphanages. She doesn't know about the rest, and I don't see any reason for her to.

"Pen, look at me," I grip her shoulders and make her look me in the eye, "I'm fine, I'm here, and I'm _alive_."

"Yeah, but Simon, there is a difference in living, and just being alive."

We have a stare down and she looks away and gestures me to follow her, "I think I could conjure something up from somewhere," She shoots me a playful smile over her shoulder and instantly the sour mood has dissipated.

We walk to the building situated on the left side of the White Chapel. It's not very tall but is longer in width. There is a multitude of small windows lining, what looks to be, all three floors of the building. Penny goes through the door and up the first flight of stairs. On the second floor, there are multiple small rooms, each has sounds of rustling things, and footsteps coming from them.

She goes to the third room on the right and the door bursts open, greeting us with a sight of boxes upon boxes of ... uniforms. There are a few kids in there fluttering through two of the boxes and holding a piece of clothing each.

"What are you guys still doing up?" Penny's voice booms louder by the close walls of the tiny room.

"I-I'm sorry Ms. Bunce, b-but we were looking for an extra p-pair of shirts," A young boy stutter, they all look at us like we might spell them into mouses. I furrow my eyebrows, how much has Watford changed since we walked the halls?

"Very well then, get to it and then get out," The three kids quickly sift through the pile and flee the room in under three minutes.

"Pen, what- why did you do that?"

"Do what, Simon?" She calls from a corner, sounding again like the normal Penny.

"Be so ... horrible," I go up to her and she piles my arms with all different sizes of the Watford uniforms.

"Simon, that's just what teachers are supposed to do."

"But remember when we used to hate teacher like that. You're telling me you want to become like them?" By teacher, I mean the Mage. And by that, I mean how he wanted to forcefully kick me out just like Penny did to those kids. Though there is a circumstantial difference, still the same principle.

"Simon," She stops to look at me, and now in this dim light, I see the bags under her eyes and the tiredness that taints them. Oh, Penny, "we have to be like that because we don't want any kids to be wandering off into the woods, or lighting trees on fire, or exploding the god damn tower," She huffs and blows a free strand of hair out of her eye.

"But Pen, you don't want them to hate you like that."

"It's better than them making weird deals, or getting themselves wrapped up in business that isn't theirs."

"Penny, you can't save them from themselves," I know we aren't talking about them anymore, but it's easier to talk about everything in the third person.

"Yeah, but I can help save them from everything else," She holds my gaze and then hands me a bundle of clothes.

"They might be a little small, but you can surely squeeze into them."

"Thanks, Pen."

"Simon," She holds my arm before I can leave, "you know you can come to me any time."

"Yeah Pen, I know," I nod and flash a small smile at her before descending down the stairs back to the Fraternity House.

*******

**P E N N E Y**

How can he expect me to be okay with how he is? How can he be okay with how he is? How can he expect me not to feel guilty about not doing more?

*******

**B A Z**

After seeing the tragedy of Simon Snow in the hallway, I close the door behind me and make sure it's locked. I don't need any more surprises.

He still had that hatred laced in his tone, the intensity in his eyes and the defense in his stance, like he is always ready for someone to jump him. He might have lost some of what made him Simon, but he was still more alive, there at the moment, then I will ever be.

I take off my tie and unbutton the topmost button on my shirt. I might as well wait around for a while for everyone to go to sleep before I devour some rats. I think the kids might be slightly shaken up if they see their professor draining a rat. Most people here know about the vampire thing, but it's a different thing to know and to see.

I don't hear anything, so I creep down the stairs, through the grass, into the chapel, and then into the Catacombs. It still looks and smells the same. Like decaying rot and dried up blood. I scrounge from some rats and throw them one by one across the area. It's not like I have to worry about keeping this clean, it's not really the place people come to admire beauty.

I rest my head on the wall not caring for the hair that falls on my eye. I think about the years after Watford, and how strange it is that I can't pinpoint any certain moment. I'm aware of everything, like graduating, going home for a few months, traveling to a few places, the unsatisfaction of everything. And then finally coming back here. I try to remember something significant, but it's like trying to fish with your hands. Everything just slips right out of your reach.

I don't even recall the clumsy footsteps and the familiar " _Ouch_!" until I see a figure standing in front of me. They don't see me in the dark, and I don't make myself knows. Which results in them tripping over my extended legs and dropping the heap of things in their hands.

"Dammit!" They shout and I instantly feel my blood boil. Dammit. I extend my hand, igniting a small flame in my palm.

"Baz! Melin! Couldn't you have said something?" Snow exclaims. He is sprawled on my legs, his ribs beat into my calf. He gets up to his knees and picks up the discarded items. He is wearing those god-awful Watford pajamas.

"Why are you even here?" My voice sounds too deep, my head all over the place. His arms are so warm, even next to me I can feel him.

"I- I just wanted... well I was wondering if this would be the same," He looks around as if he needed further indication that he's talking about the Catacombs.

"And you were going to do that with no form of light?" I raise an eyebrow.

"If you're curious to know-"

"You wish," He shoots me a glare.

"I was just going to... I don't know ...to get a feel of the place!" He throws his hands up in frustration.

"Mhmm, so you walked a hundred steps into the dark."

"Shut up," I smile triumphantly because he can't see me, and then light a fire in my hands that relfelt off his face. 

"What's that?"

"They are- were the clothes I was going to wear tomorrow," He huffs at them and holds up a blazer that is covered in dirt.

"Oh quite huffing, just spell them clean," I roll my eyes and stand up, dusting the dirt off my trousers.

"Yeah- umm - that's not- I can't," He stands to face me, the fire reflecting in his eyes.

"Don't tell me you still can't even perform the basics of a spell."

"Fine I won't tell," He looks at me and then says, "you have to do it for me though."

"Why would I do such a thing?"

"Because we are grown-ups now and can get over our differences because they are childish."

"I'm pretty sure grown-ups don't call themselves grown-ups."

"I'm pretty sure a vampire isn't supposed to be near a flame, but here we are."

"Fine," I huff as we make our way across to the Fraternity House. Everything is quiet and I can hear various animals in the distance. A weird sort of clam spreads through me, and it's been a long time coming.

"Baz," I hear Snow whisper, "why are you teaching?"

"Because I like to torture people," I reply and walk ahead of him on the stairs. We get to the top floor and I rest my thumb on the padlock for it to open.

"Well, come on then," I huff at him because he's just standing in the doorway, preventing me from closing it.

"Right," He backs away against the foot of the bed and closes the door behind him. He looks like a lost boy at the mall. It's infuriating.

"Snow, have you not seen a room before?"

"I haven't seen one belonging to you," He looks around as if observing an art museum. Not touching, but mouth gaping open.

"We shared a room for 8 horrid years!"

"Yeah but you never really made it yours. Most of the things on the walls or floor were mine," That is true, but I didn't think he noticed that I had left everything free for him to fill in.

"Okay give me the clothes," I reach out my hand and he dumps the trouser, blazer, and button down, and a tie onto my hands.

" **Clean as a whistle!** " I look at the freshly clean items and hand them back to Snow, who has made a home on the foot of my bed. I'm going to need to spell that now too.

"Oh and could you," He reaches into the pocket of his pajama bottom and retrieves a whistle, "turn this back."

"Back into what exactly?" Do I even want to know?

"Well, it used to be a ... shirt."

"Snow, Crowley, you turned your shirt into a whistle?!"

"I haven't done magic in a while, okay!"

"I highly doubt that," I murmured because it was true. Simon Snow not accidentally spelling something is like me sitting in the middle of a burning forest. Impossible.

"Believe what you want. I'm telling the truth," He gives me the whistle with his head hung low.

" **Nonsense!** " The whistle turns back into the shirt that Snow was wearing this evening. It was a dark charcoal green shirt that has most definitely seen better days.

"Here's your tragedy of a shirt," He picks it out of my hands, and for the briefest second our hand's touch and the familiar feeling of his magic hums in my fingertips. But it's gone just as quickly as it came.

"Thanks," He turns to leave and I pretend not to notice the fact that his legs are too thin, or his body seems disproportionate to his head.

"It's nice to see you again, Baz," His looks at me over his shoulder and then quickly close the door behind him.

I fall asleep to the scent of Simon Snow blanketed around me, reminding me of home. 

✶✶✶

 


	3. Chapter 3

✶✶✶

**S I M O N**

It's my first official day back at Watford and in true Simon Snow fashion, I get up early because I can almost taste the scones in the dining hall. I put on a pair of light jeans and the white button down and I loosely tie the tie around my neck. That will probably be coming off through the middle of the day.

The dining hall isn't that crowded yet, but I see Penny immediately on the same table as last night, but the teachers look more relaxed at this moment. Probably because they haven't faced the wrath of the students yet.

"Simon! How are you feeling?" She hurls a plate already full to the brim with food and smiles knowingly at me.

"Oh you know, same old, same old, except for the fact that you failed to mention Baz was here!" I exclaim.

"Well, it didn't seem all that important," She hides behind a cup of tea, peering at me.

"Penny!"

"Okay yeah maybe you two didn't leave on the best of terms, but it didn't seem all that significant to mention him. Plus it would only damper your mood."

"Yes, but I would have liked to know that he was staying right in front of me! Damn, it's like nothing had changed."

"Oh come on. He doesn't even talk all that much anymore. I swear I haven't seen him smile once since he's been teaching."

"I don't care for that. I care about being prepared to see him in the Catacombs in the middle of the night!"

"Why were you in the Catacombs?" She raises an eyebrow.

"I was looking around. Seeing if everything was the same. Nostalgia you know," I shrug.

"Why would the _Catacombs_ be nostalgic?!"

"They are what proved to everyone that I wasn't crazy and Baz was actually... you know..." I make two fanges with my pointer and middle finger and put them in front of my mouth.

"Very mature, Simon. Very mature," Penny laughs.

"So, whose classroom am I going to go to first."

"Well, since the classes that are the most to do with your skills are Magic Words, Spells, and General Knowledge, those are the ones you are going to spend the most time in. Lucky for you, I teach Magic Words and Quarantine teaches General Knowledge so you will be fine," She grins at me.

"Wait since when do we have a General Knowledge class? And who teaches Spells then?"

"Well, mum thought, judging by the events that occurred, that we should have General Knowledge just for questions and things that aren't very well taught in all the other classes."

"Oh so like how to cook and stuff?" I asked, very much confused about this new installment.

"Well yeah. None magic-related stuff. And since you have spent the last five years in the 'real world'," She air quotes, "You might have some useful things to say."

"Oh, well I guess that may be the easiest since I can't fuck up too much without a wand."

"Yeah."

A few moments of silence pass by in which Penny talks to a women sitting in front of her, Quarantine, and I enjoy the bliss that is Watford meals.

"Wait, whose class am I going to first?" I ask as the teachers start to get up and the students start to densely pack the hall.

"Umm well... Spells is first apparent," She says falling in line with my steps.

"So who teaches that?" I get no reply so I glance at her through my eyelashes and she sneakily smiles at me.

"Pen-"

"Baz." I just look at her with a blank stare.

"What?" She exclaims, throwing her arms to her sides, "It's not like I choose these. It's just how it is."

"Well, it could be better."

"Mhmm. Well, I'll see you at lunch."

"Wait wha-" But there is already a student chatting away with her. I wander towards the tower looking at the doors of each classroom for Baz. The thought makes me shudder.

Most of the classrooms are as I remember. Tables of old wood, teacher tables lined up usually against the left corner right in the line of sight from the door, cabinets on the side or the back lined with different books that are needed for the proper class. It all takes me back to being 12 years old.

I peer through every classroom window and make my way down the hallways. Of course, Baz's classroom is the only one I can't find. I look at every other room, with every other teacher and every other student wanting to smile and talk, and by the time I am in front of the only door left that could be Baz's, it's 10 minutes into the class.

I knock on the door with my knuckles and make my way inside, with a smile dripped in nervous energy. A very pissed of looking Baz stands in front of the classroom, and a bunch of curious looking third years stares at me as I shuffle nervously towards the teacher's desk. I expected Baz to just keep talking about whatever nonsense he was babbling about before, but instead, he comes to stand beside me and whisper-shouts in my ear.

"Do you have something that tells you what to say?" He has a sturdy grip on my shoulders, and we are facing the opposite way from the students.

"You mean like a speech?"

"What else are you here to do?!" He raises his voice for a second but then returns it back to normal.

"I just thought- I don't know- like assistant teacher maybe?" I shrug nervously. One because he is making me nervous this close, and I feel like I'm getting told off like a student. Two because he still has his hand on my shoulder, digging his nails into my shoulder blade.

He shakes his head, backing away from me, and returns back to the front of the room.

"Okay, so where were we?"

"Are we going to have Simon Snow here all lesson?" A brave should from the back says and I can't decide if that's excitement or resent in his voice.

"Unfortunately," Baz shots back and picks up a piece of chalk.

"Can he teach us?" That brave should say again. I think I might be growing quite a fondness for this group of kids.

"Last time I checked, I was the teacher here Mr. Morgan," Baz doesn't even turn his head to say, just keeps on scribbling.

"But isn't he the - how do you say it - guest of honor?" The boy shots back and I think I see Baz's jaw harden and his vein pop in his neck.

"Fine! Fine! You people want him. _Fine_!" He throws the white chalk at me, I barely catch it, and sits on his chair and looks up at me like the rest of the students are.

"Baz!" I huff quietly, "What are you doing?"

"Oh, you heard the people. Go. _Teach_ ," He has a calm face on that makes a shiver run up my spine. It's not the kind of clam that comes from peace, but the type that comes from a prank or a plot going your way.

"Umm- Hi... guys," I awkwardly shuffle to the front, "I really think you're making the wrong c-choice choosing me to teach, but I will try."

I take a textbook that a student in the front has open and shuffle through the page she claims they were going to go over today. I also catch a glimpse of Baz looking at me like he's challenging me to something.

Fine. If he doesn't want to help, it's okay. I can do this. I have faced the Humdrum. What could be worse than that?

"So, umm I see you were learning how to properly cast the _'Up, up and away'_ spell," I say the words carefully and painfully slow to not accidentally cast them, even though I'm not holding my wand.

"You see I would teach it to you if I knew how to do it properly too," This makes the kid in the back laugh, "but unfortunately, being the ' _chosen one'_ ," The words feel like puke on my lips. I've always hated titles, "does not come with amazing magic skills. So I'm pretty sure there are some of you here who knows how to do this. But I'm going to tell you about how my friend Penny taught me to do spells."

*******

**B A Z**

This is going better than I had anticipated and it's revolting. Where was the Simon Snow who stuttered and cowered away? He was still there somewhere but right now, in the front of the classroom, he had everyone's attention as he - poorly - demonstrated how he did the spell.

It was incorrect in every way, but no one said anything because they were laughing at something he said, or did.

Like I said. Revolting.

"- Yes! And then I was looking at him halfway through contemplating whe-" The bell cut him off and everyone shuffled out while a few other students skittered in.

"I see you're going to be doing my job from now on," I raise an eyebrow at him.

"Baz! Stop. Okay. That was not why I came here. I am just here to give a stupid speech, maybe help some people get more into studying - though I don't know why they chose me to do that because I didn't study much through my years - but I'm not here to take your job. Or whatever," He babbles on and I enjoy the brief moments when he moves a little and the light catches in his eyes.

"Are you done?"

"Yes," He looks down at his worn out trainers and I hand him a paper.

"Wha-"

"Penny gave it to me, to give to you," I turn around and busy myself in the bookshelf, searching for the materials for the next class.

"Oh. T-Thank?" He phrases it like a question and then turns to leave, but of course, not before waving and spurring one-liners at random individuals.

Of course.

*******

**S I M O N**

I fumble with the door handle to my room. I had forgotten how hectic Watford was. When you have lived in silence for half a decade, you forget what it feels like to have people around all the time. I marvel the idea that this could be forever, but then shake my head at the absurd thought.

According to the schedule that Baz had given me, I had to go to a History class next, and then a General Knowledge class with Quarantine. She was like Penny had said, very nice. And she didn't make me teach the whole lesson on my own, just asked my opinions or views on things they were discussing.

And then finally, I was just coming back from it. A magic words lesson with Penny. I had forgotten how much authority Penny exudes until she started teaching. Her demeanor changing into the Penny from last night. All hard edges and strong vocals. I hate it. But I also understand why she does it. She wants to be respected, she wants to be someone people look up to but also have a hidden fear for.

She wants to be more than just the Chosen One's best friend or sidekick.

I get it.

I push my thumb into the pad of the door, coincidentally dropping the huge textbook that Penny gave me. She said to look at the pages she annotated, just so I'm not so lost in class. Yeah, that's not happening.

I pick up the fallen book and close the door securely behind me. To think that this was normal for me. That once, all this mayhem and running around, and magic was familiar. To think that I missed it and never want to leave a place that feels like an old friend hugging you after time apart.

I push the thought away. There is no more room at Watford for me. 

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	4. Chapter 4

✶✶✶

**S I M O N**

I spend the afternoon cooped up in my room, mostly sleeping or tracing animate objects on my window. I want to soak up all the magic in the air into a bottle and take it back with me. When I wake up from my short-lived nap, the sun has already set and the stars glimmer in the sky and my stomach grumbles for attention.

I hope nothing much had changed in the Dining Hall at least. I remember sneaking into the back room and grabbing snacks from the cabinets and leftover scones from the pantry.

I slip on my trainers that were thrown half-hazard in front of the door, and make my way down the stairs. Watford is so quiet in the night, I revel in the beauty of the stars that seem brighter here rather than in the city. The familiar way my skin hums, my magic coming back up again after 5 years of almost silence. The way the White Chapel stands out with its pale interior, and the path to the Mummers House practically calls my name as I deliberately pass by it.

I go to the Weeping Tower and very carefully open the door to the dining hall, not wanting to make much sound as the huge doors shut behind me. The hall is dim, so I pick up a candle from one of the long tables and ' **Light** ' it. Miraculously, I don't burn my clothes or my fingers and use it to navigate through the rows. I make my way to the back and sneak through one of the doors that no one seems to use. They lead underground to where, I guess, all the food comes from.

I know this place like the back of my hand and with the help of the small light, I manage to find some scones and a chocolate bar. I don't bother heating up the scones because I should not mess with fire more than twice a day, and instead find a comfortable place in the corner and huddle up there, like I have done many nights before.

This underground installment doesn't really feel like you're under the ground. It is lit up with the same candles they use upstairs and is relatively clean. Though I wonder who keeps it that way. It could just be an enchantment, though.

I think I doze off and wake somewhere around sunrise, only because of the first pair of footsteps on the ground above me. They sound quiet and delicate, so it's probably a first or second year, and they seem to be leading away from the hidden door.

I creep past the door and jog back to the room untangling some strands of hair and trying to straighten up my shirt to not make it seem like I spent the night in a ditch.

Baz is just getting out of his room and I climb up the last stair.

"Had a rendezvous, did you, Snow?" He is scowling, but it's such a familiar feeling to have Baz scowl at me, I don't flinch.

"Yes. With a pair of scones. An amazing company they make all night long," I snap back but don't have enough bite to my remark, so it flows off him.

"Well they are the only company you ever get after sunset," He looks at me in the eye and has a blank expression I can never seem to master.

"Whatever," This is a wide known sign of surrender, "I need to look presentable for the day," I put my thumb on the pad and the door bursts open.

"Or as presentable as you can be," He says. He doesn't even raise his voice, but I hear him through the closing of my door.

I hurriedly put on my shirt that Baz spelled, and a pair of Watford trousers. I don't think many people would notice it's the school trousers since they don't seem to suspect that their teachers would be wearing them.

I burst through the dining hall, already feeling like I've done this way to many times since I've been back, and find Penny just about leaving.

"You should be glad I like you," She pointedly gives me one of her _'looks'._

"Always," I gleam back at her and take a seat on the one she just left.

"You have ten minutes," She points a finger at me, a little to close to my eye socket.

"I owe you," I say through a mouth of food.

"Mhmm," She leaves, and like always there are children parading her with questions. This seems so odd to me because if she was my teacher back at our school years, we would've hated a teacher like that. Someone who has strong opinions and scares the crap out of the students. But I guess I'm the only new one here because everyone already has solved the puzzle that is Penny and figured out that she's only like that during class.

I scarf down some muffins as Baz sits on the seat in front of me. I don't think he realizes where he's sat because he has his high arched nose stuffed in a book balanced between his thumb and forefinger.

"Snow, I can _feel_ the torture you have braced upon the poor food," He doesn't even look up.

"Well, Baz. I feel the way that book wants nothing more than to run out of your numpty fingers," This seems to be a soft spot for him. He hates numpties. It has something to do with eighth year and a coffin, though I never got the time to ask.

And Baz does not have numpty fingers. His fingers are actually very nice and long and pale in comparison to the dark covered book he's holding. His hands look like they were made to be photographed holding random objects.

I shake my head internally at myself.

"Don't you have somewhere to be?" He raises an eyebrow and barely peeks over the book at me. Only a little so he makes sure I am aware he's talking to me. I hold his gaze.

"Don't you have somewhere to be?"

"I have the first hour off Chosen One," He dangerously smirks.

"Well, Penny said I can come ten minutes late."

"Well good for her, classes started 15 minutes ago," He carelessly says, knowing that I will freak.

I'm too much in a hurry to cover it up. I rush out of the hall and towards Penny's classroom. She greets me, and I know that she expected the late coming.

"Simon! So, what can you tell the students about how they should focus on certain vowels during a spell."

"Well I know that if you are trying to cast a _'we all fall down'_ and pronounce fall instead of down with a tension, you will quite literally fall down until someone reverses the spell," I say with a jokers smile on my face. The students laugh a little, and so the rest of my day goes like that. Classes feel more like a casual conversation rather than a lecture. I have Baz before lunch, and so I sluggishly drag my feet through the ancient halls towards his room. I wonder if this is how he keeps so fit. Just walking this walk every day.

The next few weeks go by smoothly. Or as smoothly as they can in a magical school. Some sixth years accidentally spelled a boy a tail which caused joked and jibs all through the week. One girl accidentally burned down a tree in Magic Words class because her flame was too close to the wood. The animals did not appreciate that. There was an incident with the Wavering Woods, and some kids getting trapped on the other side of the moat. Penny had to fly them back.

Now it's already the second week of December and I'm late for Baz's class because Quarantine kept trying to bring up a conversation about Christmas. And I couldn't resist. Everyone was going back home, even Penny and Mitali, and there was the familiar buzz of excitement everywhere. Surely Baz will be in the festive mood and forgive the slight mistake.

"Ah, Snow! So glad you have graced us with your presence," He snorts the moment I walk through the door. I know my hair is a mess from the cold wind outside, and my shirt is wrinkled due to my fiddling with the edges of the fabric. Suddenly all these things seem more significant.

"What would you do without me, huh?" I smile back genuinely because I want to. Because I'm in a good mood which I have missed dearly.

"Mhmm what would we?" He turns to the class, "So if no one else has any objections, we shall start with the lesson. Unless of course, you would like Mr. Snow to teach again," Even if they did, no one has the guts to say anything since the boy from yesterday has mysteriously vanished from class.

I quietly moved up behind him as soundlessly as I could and propped myself up on the side of his teacher's table. He probably won't light me on fire in front of all there kids. Hopefully.

"What do you know about rhyme spells?" He carried on to explain the complication and whatnot. What would happen if I were to tell these kids about his experience with rhymes? Why doesn't he tell them?

I guess that's what I'm here to do.

I jump off the table and go to stand on the opposite side of the board. Baz looks at me with a weary expression, probably having an idea of what I'm about to do.

"Did you guys know, that _he_ ," I point the chalk in my hand to him, "warded of a dragon with a rhyme."

"Snow," He hisses between his teeth, but I'm already explaining further.

"Well, I guess I'm here to inform you of that. You see, you don't need to know the details, just what works in what situation. You need to know the meaning behind the childhood rhymes and then use it to your advantage. Though I don't think many of you will be needing to use such a spell," I scratch the bottom of my chin, not completely thinking about what I'm going to say until a girl in the front raises her hand.

"How did Mr. Pitch get that much power. I-," She realizes how that came out, "N-no disrespect- I didn't mean it like ... that. J-just that..." She wavers off because of the glare Baz is sending to her. Though when I look at him, he directs it to me. As of saying _'how are going to explain that'._

"Actually I - sort of- helped. A little... I guess," I shrug because I didn't think about how I'm going to explain this.

"How did you do that?" A boy from the middle row bursts.

"I guess I gave him some of my magic," I feel heat creeping up my neck with all this attention.

"Can _we_ try doing that. Giving magic," Another kid, redhead, calls out.

"I don't t-think that's how it ... works," I nervously scratch the back of my head and look over to Baz for some help. He is leaning against the side of the desk with an amused expression. I feel my heart leap.

"Then how come you did it?" That girl from the front of the class calls out.

"Well I t-think- I mean... I had a lo-"

"He is the Chosen One, don't you think that might mean that he has the ability to transfer his magic into others?" Baz quizzically raises a brow at the kids, shutting them all up.

"Can we see?" This voice is quieter, from a boy at the corner of the class. I can barely see him because he just looks like a part of the white wall. Vampire maybe?

"I - I don't know if it still works like that..." I say and feel my heart beating faster. I feel like I've been backed into a corner.

"Snow, unless you've drained your magic with a sift, I think it still works like that," Baz says, though he doesn't make any movement to indicate that he will come even an arm's length from me.

"I - guess," I look at the eager children, "but if the class goes on fire, this is one all of you," They laugh but I wince slightly, "I'm serious."

"Stop being such a drama queen, Snow," Baz rolls his eyes and tilts his head to indicate for me to come to him.

This is the worst decision I've made after coming back here.

"Baz I don-"

"Snow. Shut up," He looks at me and I can't read his expression. I want to know what he's thinking.

*******

**B A Z**

I'm not sure what I'm thinking.

Who in their right mind offers to let Simon Snow burn them with his power. Granted it didn't really burn me, but maybe that was just a fluke. I think back to the night we met with those vampires and the car ride back home. Simon, for the second time, giving me an open door to his magic. To tap into it. Me craving not only the magic but also the feel of his hand on my shoulder and the feeling of being alive for a moment again.

What am I thinking?

Snow comes over to me and hesitantly puts his hand on my shoulder. I shudder inwardly, not sure whether it's from the magic or him.

"Okay umm- I'm going to do it."

I feel the exact second the magic hits me. It's like a craving I never knew I had. I feel like I could do anything. I have infinity in my hands.

I close my eyes and when I open them, the ceiling of the classroom is darker and full of sparkling stars. Each one seems more magical than the first. They twinkle and glow and the kids - who I momentarily forgot about - look up in awe.

I look at Simon.

His eyes are glossy, and I can see the reflection of the stars in them. His mouth is open because he never learned to close it, and amazement dances in his expression.

_This_ might be infinity.

*******

**S I M O N**

This might be even more magical than Penny flying those kids over the moat a few weeks back. I can't believe we are still able to pull this off. I can't believe Baz's shoulder isn't burnt. I feel like an overheated oven. And I know my face is flushed, not because of the magic, but because somehow, I am now standing shoulder to shoulder with Baz and I feel his cold fingers ghost over my hand that isn't touching him.

I feel like we can do anything at this moment.

"I think I'm going to let go," I whisper in his ear because everyone is distracted by the stars and he's right there.

He doesn't reply, so I let my hand fall next to his, breaking the spell and suddenly the class fills with sunlight again. Though it feels like pins and needles in my eyes after that.

"So... that's how he did it," I chuckle, still nervous because everyone seems frozen in time.

"That was awesome! " The girl in the front says excitedly.

"Can you do it to me?" The redhead says. I shake my head.

"Sometimes it burns people. And I don't want to risk that."

"But it doesn't seem to have burned him," She points at Baz, and I suddenly think the conversation feels different. I can't tell what has changed.

"I never figured out why," I run my fingers through the messy curls and shrug.

"Bu-"

"I think that's enough for today," Baz suddenly says. He has that same expression as before.

The bell goes and the students leave. I stay standing there and waving to them. They were the last class of today, so I can have a chat with Baz here without anyone disturbing. No one voluntarily comes this deep into the halls unless it's for class.

"Are you sure you're fine?" My eyes skitter over his face and he seems fine. Still pale, though he does seem a little flushed. Maybe he visited the Catacombs last night.

"Crowley Snow. I'm fine," He turns to gather a neat stack of papers.

"That was a lot of magic. How did it not burn you?" I say, and without thinking it pull the collar of his sweater to display his shoulder. It's pale skin. No sign of anything out of the ordinary. Then I realize what I'm doing.

"Dammit Snow! What are you doing?" He pulls away from me, and his collar snaps back into place. Covering his shoulder back up.

"Shit sorry," I scratch my neck and turn around to leave, "Baz, that was awesome though," I flash him a smile over my shoulder and walk to the dining hall. 

✶✶✶

 


	5. Chapter 5

✶✶✶

**S I M O N**

I remember that I volunteered to help Dev with football practice the next day, so I head over there. Through the familiar path that reminds me of coming here to watch them practice on days, I didn't have anything else to do. I missed the pitch.

Dev is standing on the corner with a whistle around his neck as the boys run around the field. I remember that I'm not even the slightest bit talented in the sport, and then question why ever did I volunteer.

"Hey, Dev!" I yell from across the field. He gives me a wave, and when I get over there explains that I just need to watch them so that they don't kill each other. His words.

I watch the kids, sometimes I run around with them, and very poorly, kick the ball over to another player. We all laugh and jump around the field as the sun hits our backs and beads of sweat drip down our forehead. I don't feel any older than 15.

By the end of practice, we are all flushed by the adrenaline, and stink with sweat. I smile and wave to them as I leave to go back to my room. I really need a shower.

Penny tags along with me as I pass the courtyard.

"What are you doing for Christmas?" I swing an arm around her shoulder but she makes a disgusted face, "How are you sweaty in the middle of December?!"

"Football," I smile because she knows how much I miss sucking at the sport, "And nothing."

"Well, you could-"

"Don't even bother telling me to come with you because I'm sure as hell not feeling up for another third wheeling situation."

"We won't make you feel like a third wheel," She adds, but she has a humor in her eyes that makes me question otherwise.

"That what you said last time," She knows I'm referring to eighth year Christmas where I had to bunk in with her younger siblings because her room was too small for me, her, and Micah.

"But then where will you go?" She has her concentrating face on.

"Quarantine invited me to come with her and some of the other teachers, I think I might go," I say as we go up the stairs to the top floor of the Fraternity House.

"But you just met them, will you be okay with that?"

"I was actually going to refuse," I look at my feet, "I wanted to stay here. You know. To get all of Watford that I can."

"So you don't want to leave after the year is over?"

"I - I... no," If it's possible, I try to make myself smaller and lean against the door of my room. For some weird reason, neither of us makes a move to go inside.

"You know you could've told me. I can probably find you something to do here," She says it like it's the simplest thing. Like her, one sentence didn't completely change my life.

"What could I possibly do? I can't be anything other than a magician with magic I don't know how to use," Now I sink down, and she follows. We sit against the door and she rests her hand on my arm for a type of comfort that words can't provide.

"Simon. You are so much more than that."

"Yeah. What? What is it about me that is more than that? If I didn't have my magic, I might as well be a homeless bloke on the streets of London!"

"Simon," She turns to look at me and has a fierce glint in her eyes, "You are kind and captivating and you are so good with people. Do you know how excited the class gets when you come in? People like you for more than just your powers!" She holds my gaze, and I rest my head on her shoulder. We sit like this until I hear footsteps coming up the stairs and she side-hugs me and gets up to leave.

Baz appears on the head of the stairs just as she makes her way down.

"What? Did you get locked out of your own magic room?" He smirks and opens his door.

And because I'm all over the place and I can't seem to have any control over my mouth, "Baz. I missed you," and go inside. Shutting the door behind me and refusing to think about what I just said. I just take a shower and fall asleep.

**~~~**

Everyone is leaving today for Christmas and so the Great Lawn is full of excited children and teachers who are looking forward to their weeks off. I hug Penny and wave to Quarantine, telling her that if I feel up to it. I might come to her party thing. Though that seems very unlikely. The place is quiet by sundown and it reminds me of my first few days back. Sneaking into the dining hall to grab a snack and watching the stars.

I don't think as I make my way across the pitch and towards a place that gives me a pang in my heart to think about.

I see the goats before I see the small house and finally, my brain starts to wonder why it's taking me there. I don't even know if the door would open, but when I twist the handle it darts open like it was waiting for someone to urge it.

It smells like Ebb in here and when I walk around the place, the floor creaks slightly under my weight and because Ebb isn't here, the house has cold air flowing through it from an open window. I know nothing will work without Ebb's magic to function it, but I still try the lights and the tap. Which gives me nothing. I go into her small room, and it doesn't feel like trespassing. It more so feels like coming back to a place which will always be there to greet you.

Her dresser has an array of photographs that show their age. Of her with, who I assume is, Nicodemus. Of her with a goat in her lap, she looks very young in this one. There is one of just the goats on the hill around sunset. And there is one of a 12-year-old me and her, I remember it was taken by another teacher though I can't seem to remember her name. We are both smiling to the camera, and there is also a blurred goat beside my head. The picture sends a painful knife through my heart, and I tuck it into the pockets of my jeans before I leave. I think I needed some closure.

I pet a few goats that roam around here. They seem to have a magnetic pull that doesn't seem to let them leave. I don't think they want to leave.

The woods and the pitch pass by me as I make my way back to the lawn. I think I want to grab something to eat, and because there is still food in the dining hall for the few people who haven't left, I go there.

There aren't a few people, there is actually no one there. I grab a plate and fill it up, and then proceed to sit on top of the table and cross my legs and dig in. I grab the picture out of my pocket and look at it. I don't even realize I'm crying until someone comes to stand next to me, making a shadow over the table.

"It's bad manners to sit on the table, Snow."

"It's bad manners to sneak up on people, Baz," I look up at him, and he looks surprisingly casual. His hair isn't even slicked back, and he has a sweater and a pair of jeans on. The jeans through me off because they seem so unlike him, but also like they were made to fit his body only.

"Why aren't you with the sunshine gang back in London?" He says I think he notices the tears but doesn't comment on them as he sits in front of me on the table. I don't comment on it.

"They all had things to do. Plus I wanted to stay here. Why aren't you back in your gothic mansion?"

"I didn't feel like sleeping with the gargoyles."

"I think you scare the stone."

"It's not my fault they are born like ugly little devils."

"How would you like it if I called you an ugly little devil?" I smile even if I don't want to.

"Well, then you would just be lying. There is not one part of me that is ugly," He smirks and stuffs a small piece of cake in his mouth. I steal some of it from his plate which gets me a not-so-threatening glare.

"But you would be okay with being the devil?"

"It would mean that I have power over you," He says, and I can see a little glimpse of his fangs. They will never stop surprising me.

"Didn't anyone tell you it's not good to stare?" He catches my eye and smirks.

"Well, your weird teeth aren't something I see every day."

"My 'weird teeth' can kill you with one bite."

"So you would bite me?" I say, putting my feet on the bench under me, and lean back a little on my forearms.

"I could," He comes a little closer, and I wouldn't even have noticed it if there was anything else to look at other than the reflection in his grey eyes and his loose jet black hair.

"If you wanted to, you would've done that 6 years ago."

"Anathema."

"Or right after we left."

"You disappeared right after."

"I had the world to save," I shrug. He makes himself more comfortable by copying my pose except on the opposite bench. So now the only thing between us is the leftover food.

"Bunce was driving me crazy, accusing me of finally killing you."

"I bet you regretted not. I was ... around."

"Mhmm hiding so well, no magician could find you except Mitali."

"Well, I didn't purposely try to be undetectable. I guess no one expected me to be where I was."

"And where was that?" He raises an eyebrow, but unlike before, it's not threatening or snarky. It only held a question.

"In a small building on a part of London, no one wants to be in after sunset."

"Simon," I don't know whether to focus on him calling me Simon, or the fact that it's not pity in his eyes, "Why?"

"Because I don't have anything except a small job and a shitty pay."

"Why'd you not want help?"

*******

**B A Z**

"Because I don't deserve it," I don't think he realizes that this unfiltered honesty is breaking my heart.

"Why do you think that?" He sits back up, and I mirror him.

"Because I killed the bloody Mage, Baz!"

"Well it was you killing him, or him killing you and then everything else."

"Yeah, but later, when we won't be here to say that, all people are ever going to know is that I was a boy with too much power and a hatred towards the Mage. They aren't going to know that it was an accident. That's why I stopped doing spells. I don't want to kill anyone Baz," His blue eyes are staring at me and I feel my heartbreak from him. I don't know how. But I know what he is talking about. But it doesn't make it any more right.

"That is stupid, Simon. Of course, they are going to know more than just that. You're not a horrible person."

"I am!" He's angry and I can't tell why. But I just want to hug him. Though I feel like touching him right now might be like putting your hand in an open fire. Lucky for me, I'm used to a bit of heat.

I grab his arm before thinking too much and scoot him over to me. I push the plates away and wrap an arm around his shoulders because it seems like the only sensible but also a chaotic thing I can do. It's dark outside and in here, with only a few candles burning, there is no sound, and so it makes everything easier to do.

"I will turn you into a toad if you keep thinking like that."

"No, you won't."

"Do you want to test that theory?" I look at him and I want to capture this moment forever. Simon Snow in my arms with his blue eyes looking at me with amusement,  where a second ago there was anger. 

"You're just empty threats, Pitch," And because I don't know any other way to reply. I tickle him on his side. I already knew he was ticklish but her squirms and moves away from my grip. I grab his arm to keep him in place as I run my fingers on his side. He laughs so loud it echoes in the empty room. It's the kind of sound that blossoms happiness in anyone who listens.

"Okay - Okay stop," He says out of breath from laughing. I lean over him to whisper in his ear.

"Don't underestimate me, Snow," And move away from him. He is laying down on the table with his legs bent, and his head is hanging off, casting a curtain of bronze curls to flop off the table.

"I would never," He laughs and uses my arm to pull himself back into sitting position. Since when are we so comfortable around each other? I can't tell when I stopped snarling throughout this conversation.

"I should ... go," I say, but before I can hop off the table he grabs my arm and pulls me back. I stable myself on my forearms in surprise.

"Snow, you are aware that tomorrow is Christmas, meaning that I may have things to do," He leans over me and his lips are right there. I can feel his breaths and the heat of him.

"You just told me that you aren't going back home," I'm not sure why we're having a conversation like this. With him hovering over me, and me not moving.

"I still have a life."

"Mhmm," He stares at me and I stare back because it's impossible to look at anything other than his face, it's the only thing in view.

"Si-"

He kisses me.

I was wrong before. This is infinity.

*******

**S I M O N**

I should not have done that. I should not be kissing Baz and enjoying it. His fingers are so cold on my cheek. I can't remember when he put his hand there. I swing my leg over his body so my neck doesn't twist weirdly.

This feels game-changing except I can't think of anything other than the hand that is running through my hair and Baz's face on mine and the beat of his heart.

He pulls back and it takes me a moment to open my eyes. He's looking at me with that expression from before. The one I could never describe. Perhaps it's just how his face is.

I tug on a piece of his hair because I've always wanted to do that. And he closes his eyes for just a brief second. It feels like another moment and it sends warmth through my spine. I want to know what he's thinking but I don't want to ruin this with my words.

"Simon," I look at him and he has such a small smile on his face, I don't even register it until I do.

"Baz," I think he might be blushing but it's hard to tell when there isn't much light between us.

"You shouldn't have done that."

"But I did."

"Why?"

"Why'd you kiss me back?"

"Because it would've been rude to push you away."

"So you were only being nice?"

"Mhmm. I would never voluntarily kiss you, Snow," I think he's joking, but it's hard to tell with Baz.

"Oh okay. Maybe I'll just..." I lean over him, hovering just above his lips. I want to see how far I can push him now that he's under my grasp.

"Simon."

"Mhmm."

"Move."

"I don't think I want to," I smile a little and he reaches up for my mouth this time. I would tease him if it didn't feel so fucking good.

My arms are holding me up, and I mindlessly twirl his hair and his arms are around my torso. I don't think the teachers would appreciate us making out on the Dining Hall table but I'm afraid if I move, I might break this.

"Snow this is very unteacher like of us."

"Oh please, it's not like the table can talk."

"What if someone comes in."

"Well they are in for a surprise," Baz shakes his head a little and laughs. I think this is the first time I've seen him laugh ever since I've been here. And so because of that, I kiss him.

I don't know how anyone could get used to this.

*******

**B A Z**

My mouth is on fire. I might as well be a dragon right now with all this buzz inside of me.

"Oof," Simon falls on top of me right in the middle of the kiss, his chest bumps with mine in a painful thud.

"Snow a warning would've been nice," He doesn't get up though, but now I just feel awkward because I can see our surroundings, and suddenly making out on the dining hall table seems weird and uncomfortable. I want to go back to the rooms.

"Sorry," He gets up, and I can see where my fingers threaded through his hair and the red marks on his arms where he was holding himself up.

"We sh-"

"I thi-" We say at the same time and he flushes red as if he wasn't the one who kissed me a few minutes ago.

"Come on," I take his hand and for the first time ever, he doesn't flinch, just huddles closer probably because of the cold.

The walk back to out rooms feels so much longer than it ever has, and when we get to the landing he silently pulls me into his - very cluttered - room and just about misses my fingers as he abruptly closes the door behind us.

"Crowley Simon you al-" Apparently talking isn't for today because he kisses me with so much force, it knocks the wind out of my lungs. His hands are leaving hot trails wherever they touch, and his mouth is tilted to the side at an angle that is driving me crazy. He pops open the buttons on my white shirt and moves his lips down my neck. I can't think of anything other than him.

He nibbles at the side of my neck and I flip us around. Pinning him against the door, hard, and do all the things that I've been thinking of doing for the last 23 years. I tilt his head to the side to kiss him, not biting him. I wouldn't do that. I tug his horrible sweater over his head and he lets me. I hear his excited breathing and the way he gasps when I trail down his stomach, right above his waistline.

I bring myself back up to his mouth and drag him to the small bed in the corner. I push him down onto it, and immediately pick up where I left off. The moonlight highlights his freckles and I kiss along them. On all the moles that I use as a target.

I pin his hands over his head and he kisses my neck in the process. It's a cluster of skin and freckles and heat. And magic. I feel his magic all around us as I pull off his trousers and kiss any skin that I can get my lips on. But he cuts me short by flipping us over. He straddles my waist and kisses all the way down my torso. My heart beats faster as he tugs off my button down and unbuckles my belt, tossing both the items across the room. He tugs down my jeans, and I wonder how he is so good at this. But all those thoughts fly out of my mind the minute he kisses me above my boxers. He puts both his hands on my thighs and tugs down the only remaining clothing item I have on. He kisses along my length and his other hand rests on my side, holding me down.

A gasp escapes my mouth as he wraps his mouth around me and bobs his head up and down. I wonder again how the fuck he's so good at this, but I can't think straight.

"Simon," It comes out breathless and desperate and I can't bring myself to care because he's doing this thing with his mouth and flicking his tongue.

" _Simon_ ," I can't hold back much longer, and he makes no move to back away. I explode into his mouth and my eyes close on reflex. It feels like forever until I come back down and he's leaning over me with a smirk. I flip us over. Two can play at that game.

I tug off his horribly strained boxers and I feel his pulse under the hand resting on his chest. He juts out his hip without meaning to, and I take that as a sign. Taking the full length of him in my mouth, I return the favor. I peer up at him, he has his eyes closed and his fingers are in my hair. I see his hand come up to his mouth to conceal a gasp, but I hold it down.

He erupts in my mouth and his mouth is releasing sudden gasps. I kiss him slowly and gently because he's here. And he's not going anywhere. And he's so beautiful. 

**✶✶✶**

 


	6. Chapter 6

**✶✶✶**

**S I M O N**

I don't know when we fall asleep. I fiddled with his fingers and he ran his hands along my back. But the sun pierces through the window and right onto my face with an unpleasant beam.

I am sandwiched between the wall and Baz. His face is buried in the crook of my arm, safely away from the sun, and his arm is draped protectively around my waist. The blanket covers everything else up.

"Morning sunshine," I give him my biggest smile and he puts his hand over my face, pushing me away lightly.

"It's too early," His voice is deeper in the morning. It makes my stomach to funny things.

"I think it's almost noon," I say but he just further buries his head into my chest, and drapes a leg over mine. Maybe we don't have to get up.

"Baz," I whisper into his ear in a whiny voice, "I'm hungry."

"I have something you could eat," He smirks up at me with a devilish glint.

"Shut up," Now it's my turn to hide my face into his skin ad he laughs freely.

"Well, you asked," He flips over so that he's on his back now, but that just gives me a better angle to cuddle up beside him.

"Snow, we might end up here the entire day if you keep doing that," He refers to my hand that is dangerously low under the covers.

"I'd be okay with that," I hear him groan and flip off the covers. He sits on the edge of the bed, away from me, and tugs on his boxers before standing up.

"Where are my jeans, Simon?"

"How am I supposed to know?" I wrap the covers around me because the air is still cold, and swing my legs off the bed.

"Oh because you were the one taking them off!"

"Mhmm," I kiss the side of his stomach because it's right there in all it's pale glory.

"Simon, come on," He whines, but still takes my hands.

"Oof, you're no fun. Over there," I point to across the room where the black jeans lay. He shoots me a grin and lightly kisses me before tugging them on and through my pants onto my face.

"Eww, Baz."

"Put them on, we're going out."

"But it's cold," I drag out the last syllable of the word as I get up and throw off the sheets.

"Well it is Christmas eve," He wraps his arms around me lightly, already wearing his shirt but without the buttons done up. Merlin.

"Oh yeah.." I fiddle with the edge of his shirt.

"Come on. Get cleaned up. We have to leave," He ushers me to the bathroom where I do my business and I hear the door to my room shut.

A few minutes later, as I get out of the steaming shower, he is already leaning against the wall with his arms folded.

"Took you long enough."

"Not everyone can glamour their hair, Baz."

"I do no such thing," He puts a hand on his chest and the other one around me.

"You keep lying, but it doesn't make it less true, darling," I know he doesn't really magic his hair. I lived with him for years and never once seen him do that.

He kisses me briefly and puts an arm around my shoulders.

"So where are we going?"

"To the city."

"Why?" I join him on the first step of the stairs.

"Because there is nothing here to do."

"What do you want to do?"

"You'll see," He smirks as we reach the bottom of the stairs and pulls me to his side.

"Is it going to be something I like?"

"I don't know," He shrugs. I can't get over how ungaurded he looks. How casual.

"And how are we getting there?"

"Crowley you ask a lot of question."

"I just want to make sure you aren't going to turn me into a toad."

"I wouldn't fancy a toad."

"So you fancy me as a person?"

"Not at this moment with all these questions."

"You didn't say that last night," He stops walking to smirk at me.

"Neither did you."

"That doesn't make any sense."

"Yes it does," He swats my shoulder as we make our way across the Great Lawn. I guess we're going to the train station. I swat his arse and he walks in front of me.

"Snow!"

"What?" I give him my best award winning smile and a shrug.

**~~~**

We make our way to the train station and Baz couldn't be more out of place. His hair is to slicked back and his trousers (He wouldn't wear the jeans) too neatly pressed. Maybe there is a beauty in that because looking at him now, makes my insides go mush.

He guides me to a train, and we sit side by side, me next to the window, and him peering over my shoulder.

"So, would you call this a ... date?"

"No. It's just two blokes, hanging out after a late night."

"Two blokes who make out time to time."

"Details. Details," He smirks, and so quickly that I don't even regester it, pecks my lips.

"I never pegged you for an affectionate person."

"I'm not," And to prove my point, he punches my arms and stuffs my face into his chest. I tickle his sides, and he squirms, letting go of me.

"Point proven," He smugly smiles and we spend the rest of the ride quitely watching the view, with his fingers loosley dancing along my knuckles.

We get off at our station and he takes me to a small coffee shop. I look at him with a weird glance as he orders some food and sits back.

"What?!"

"You're being weird."

"No. That just me."

"No. I mean," I lean forward, and he does the same in a mockery fashion, "you're actually not that bad of a person. Maybe I should've kissed you 6 years ago."

"Maybe you should've," He smirks.

"You can't say things like that and then say you aren't acting weird."

"No. I'm just voicing my opinions."

"Your opinions are weird."

"They get weirder," He has a playful glint in his eyes, and his tone is stripped of the usual snarl. I'm getting used to this too fast for it to be okay.

We eat and he makes fun of the jam that ends up on the tip of my nose. Though he does lick it off which results in me laughing at him because he keeps surprising me.

We walk to a small park that comes along our path and I swing our conjoined hands back and forth. He whines that I may break off his arm, but doesn't do anything to make me stop. Eventually, we sit under a huge tree that casts a shadow over us, blocking the sun out of view.

"Simon."

"Yeah?"

"You're an idiot," He looks at me as I try to balance a small flower over his ear. It's a shade of yellow and it makes his dark hair look darker.

"I think it looks nice."

"Well, you think that sweater looks nice, but oh look. You're wrong."

"What's wrong with this?!" I hold out the bottom of it as if to prove a point.

"It looked better on the floor last night."

"Baz!"

"I only speak the truth," He holds up his hands and laughs lightly, "Okay come on."

We get up, I successfully put the flower in his hair, and he guides me downtown. I don't think either of us realizes exactly where we are going until I catch a whiff of that realizes scent of garbage and leftovers.

I think Baz notices my hand when it stops swinging and the way my steps falter as we make out way through.

"What?"

"Nothing. Maybe we should go a different route," I tug him towards another intersection.

"This is your apartment. Isn't it?" He doesn't phrase it like a question. More like a statement that he knows is correct but doesn't want to be.

"Come on. Let's just leave."

"You said you had a job."

"I do."

"But you live here. Simon. Not even poorest people live here."

"It's not as bad from the inside."

"Are you trying to convince me? Or yourself?"

"Seriously Baz. Lets ju-"

"SS! Wher' ya been?" I turn abruptly hoping it's not him but knowing it is who I'm thinking.

"Burley," I reply with less enthusiasm. Baz isn't supposed to know about this side of me. He isn't supposed to see the ugly. He isn't supposed to see the part that struggles with rent and makes weird friends because they can pull strings and give me more time.

"Mr. Man upstairs needs his cash," He smiles, but not really. It's more like the horribleness going on inside his mouth needs a way out.

"I thought - didn't I already do that," I nervously move my feet against the broken down gravel.

"They said you didn't," He says as he chews on something I would rather not know the name of.

"I think you are mistaken. I - I mean... I gave him all of it. I don't - I can't give any more," I look down at my scruffed sneakers and Baz tugs me just an inch closer.

"Sorry man. I can't do 'nothing 'bout it," He shrugs and then seems to notice Baz, "Oh! Did you find another job? Got swept up in the industry didn't ya. I mean, a pretty face like yours is bound to make ya some good cash," He tilts his head to the side as if examining my face. If it's possible, my face turns a deeper shade of red.

"No. No. Not lik- He's not -"

"I'm his boyfriend," Baz speaks for the first time. His tone exuding confidence and clarity.

"How much he payin' ya, sweet tooth?" Burley smiles his horrid smile.

"Disgracing him like that is very big of you. Especially in front of me," Baz looks bigger than him. Not in size, more in presence.

"Bodyguard or boyfriend, huh?" He shakes his head and winks at Baz before turning away into the darker parts of the alleyway.

Baz doesn't say a word as he drags me through the streets, past the coffee shop and the park, and onto the beachside. We sit along the shoreline as he throws rocks into the ocean.

"Baz," I look at where his pale fingers blend with my freckled ones, "say something."

"I have nothing to say, Snow."

"You called me Snow," My voice is a whisper so quiet that if it were anyone but Baz, they wouldn't hear it.

"Because I'm bloody pissed. You ran away to that. Simon, I was creeped out by that place. And I can see in the fucking dark. He thought you were a - a - " He cuts off and throws another rock angerly into the ocean.

"It's okay. No one hurt me," I fiddle with his long fingers, "I was fine."

"No one can be fine while living like that. And you must be mad if you think I'm ever in my right mind letting you go back there."

"I have nowhere else."

"Watford is your home, Simon! How much do people have to drill to get that through your thick mind."

"I can't give it anything."

"Why is you being there not enough?"

"Because - it just isn't okay!"

"It is! " I don't want to fight, I don't think he does either, but yet we are. Though he does soften his eyes and I scoot a little closer. Maybe he understands that I need to give Watford something back if I'm going to live there. But I have nothing to give.

"You could just continue to be a teacher assistant."

"Can I?"

"I could talk to Mitali. Actually, I think she liked you more. You talk to her."

"Baz," He looks at me, "I really don't want to go back there," Something in my voice makes him caress my cheek.

"Okay, we aren't going to do that. This was supposed to be a fun date."

"I thought it wasn't a date?"

"It's not," I chuckle and we walk through the town. There are a few lights lighting up houses or streets in colors like red, green, and gold. Everything is so festive, I can't remember the last time I had a proper Christmas.

"Maybe we should hang out with the other teachers in that stupid place they invited me."

"Oh, they invited you too?!"

"Don't sound so surprised. It was just a courtesy invite. Nothing really."

"Well, they might be shocked to find you there then."

"I love shocking the pants off people."

"I - Baz!"

He just shrugs and we quietly walk back to the train station. He occasionally runs his hand so lightly down my back, I almost don't feel it. But I can't really ignore it when Baz Pitch touches me.

We end up going back to Watford by an unspoken agreement, and equally unspoken when Baz unlatches the door to his room and I step in after him. The room is tidier than mine but far more cluttered than I would imagine Baz Pitch to be. He has some books piled up in a corner, an unmade bed and a few discarded clothes left in places. It looks lived in and I smile slightly. Maybe Baz is actually comfortable, heck even happy here.

He flops onto the bed half-hazard and plants his arm over his face. As much as I would like to do the same, I still fell a weird sensation of standing in this room. For all my life, Baz has always been my roommate, and I had been occupying the majority of the space available with things of my own. And he seemed alright with it. I think he forgot that he is also allowed to put posters and have clothes thrown under beds. I feel a bit of guilt pass through me for not even thinking about that in the past years.

"If you're gonna stand there all night, at least make it a sight to behold."

"I-," I don't know how to answer to that, "would you like me to discard some items?" I raise my eyebrows.

"Preferably."

"In your dreams."

"Always," He smirks with his arms still over his eyes and I sit down next to him with my leg tucked under myself.

"So, what are we doing tomorrow?"

"So now we're a 'we'?"

"I thought that was obvious," I make a scrunched up face.

"Mhmm okay," His voice muffles as he flips on his side to face me and looks up through hooded lids, "We are going to ... do whatever you want."

"You just made that up on the spot."

"So you don't want a day of freedom?"

"No, I would ... like that."

"Okay, and how can I sleep?"

"No," I kick off my shoes with the help from the side of the bed and wrap my entire body around him. As far as it will stretch.

"Simon you won't get taller by stretching yourself."

"Shut up."

We eventually do lay down properly and I tuck my chin into his chest as of reflex. I can't pinpoint when we fall asleep, but I wake up to a tickle on my cheek.

"Baazzz!"

"Aren't you a sight in the morning?" I can hear the smirk in his voice and so I just snuggle deeper into the blankets.

"Snow, unless you want to spend your whole free-Christmas day in bed, it may be smart to get up."

"Mhjsda."

"I'm sorry I'm not fluent in that," I just swat his face away with the whole of my hand and he nips on the skin at my palm.

"Ouch! You're violent in the mornings," I rub the sleep from my eyes with the heel of my hands and stretch out over his legs. He's sat up, resting on the backboard with a book balanced in one hand.

"And you're an animal."

"Shut up," He balances the book on my stomach and unconsciously runs his fingers through the tight knots in my hair. It almost makes me fall back asleep until he slams the book on the nightstand and pushes me off his legs.

"But what if I want to spend the whole day like this?"

"Then it's a waste of a day."

"Come on! I don't even have a place in mind right now," I fall on the side of the bed with my torso hanging upside down. He doesn't reply and just shuts the bathroom door with force.

Well then. 

**✶✶✶**

 


	7. Chapter 7

**✶✶✶**

**B A Z**

I left the decision up to Snow because of how horribly last night went. If that's any proof of my lack of date planning skills, then I choose to stand aside and let him do the work.

We end up back on the train and it's far more crowded than I would've thought. I guess I assumed everyone was already in the places they needed to be on Christmas day.

Simon is holding my hand and if he wasn't I think I would sway backward, or pinch myself repeatedly because it seems surreal. He's here. Right now. And I can feel his warmth which I don't know if is magic or just Simon being Simon.

He has a face that screams sureness that he knows where we're going once we've departed the train, but I know he has no sodding clue.

"Snow-"

"No, it's this way," He cuts me off and grabs a hold on my wrist as we go towards a store. I don't question it knowing I won't get a complete answer.

"Si-"

"Shhh, I'm concentrating."

"On crossing the road," Because we are indeed, halfway across an intersection.

"You wouldn't want me getting run over."

"Sure, darling. Whatever you say."

He looks briefly at me as we fall into a steady rhythm on the footpath. The doorbell to the small store rings and I'm instantly stricken with the smell of a -

"You took me to a library? On Christmas day?"

"Wait no- there's a point to this-" He looks between the isles like a mysterious book is going to jump out at him and give him all of life's answers.

"Hey!" Now he's talking to a wooden shelf. I've got a boyfriend who isn't a villain, no, he's a lunatic now.

"Sim-"

"Hey Baz," Bunce comes out from behind the shelves looking like the human embodiment of Christmas. She glares at Simon and I as we stifle laughter from her jumper.

"Ha Ha Ha, okay we get it. Funny jumpers. Yours are worse though," She smirks and makes a particular effort to look at me.

"What do you mean mine is worse?"

"Didn't he tell you?" She points at Simon who's plastered on his best look of innocence. And it fits with the freckles dancing about his cheeks. _Crowley_. "We're all going out."

"Who's all?"

"Everyone we know. Just out on the town. Away from the magic for a while."

"And this was his," I jab a thumb in Simon's direction who has grown distracted with a book that ejects music as you open it, "idea?"

"Of course not. It was Dev's."

"Why in Merlin's name would he come up with that?"

"Said he had some news and it would be nice to have a 'reunion' of some sort. Which doesn't quite make sense since we see each other all day. But I had nothing else to do," She shrugs.

"Well, I did."

"No you didn't," Snow chirps from behind me and gently - but not so because his hand is warm through my shirt - puts a hand on the small of my back, "Plus you said it was up to me."

"Yeah but-"

"Why are you two hanging out anyways?" I realize the last two days have not been a lifetime.

"Oh well-"

"Because we're the only two left at Watford since all the normal folks went home."

"Oh well here are your sweaters," She juts a fabric into my hand, and one into Simon's.

"How did you know I was going to be here," I wonder.

"Simon texted me."

"He has a phone?!" I look at him playing with the pompoms on his sweater and he glances up to shoot a smile at me.

"Yup, my mum gave it to him."

"Do I even want to know why?"

"Because I accidentally forgot one of my classes and no one could find me and so her mum got upset," He replies like it's the most normal thing.

"Where were you?"

"In the catacombs," He smiles sheepishly.

"That first day?"

"No after that."

"Why?" I realize Bunce has left us to bicker between shelves.

"Because I hid something there and I needed to get it back."

"What was it?"

"You need to promise you won't get mad."

"Unless you kidnaped a numpty to put in my room as a form of greeting when we get back, I won't."

"Why would I- nevermind," He shakes his head and his curls toss around, "It was the necklace."

"Because you think I might bite you?" I did not want to hear that after the days of us making out on the dining hall table.

"No. Because it has memories attached to it and I would like to keep it."

"But you're not wearing it right now. I would have felt it in the last few days if you were."

"Yeah because if I did, then I wouldn't be able to do this-" He grabs the back of my neck and puls my lips down to his for such a brief second, but it still makes my heart beat faster against my ribcage.

"Yeah okay," I breathlessly say, and offer the slightest of smiles.

"Now we need to get changed before Penny scolds us."

"Scolds us? We aren't children."

"I can still very much scold you, Pitch," I hear from behind one of the shelves and wonder for the briefest moment how much she heard. And then feel a strangeness come over me from the revelation that I don't really care.

"Come on," I follow Simon into a small bathroom in which he takes off his shirt before I can even close the door.

"Simon. Dignity."

"Oh hush," His chest if sprinkled with freckles that illuminate in the small bathroom light and I see the light flush of red that grazes his neck when he realizes I'm staring. I smirk at him.

"Come on, change!"

"So bossy," I roll my eyes and proceed to change into the sweater. It surprisingly fits. I look in the small mirror and let out a sigh of relief because Simon's is way worse than mine. His has a bunch of ornaments outlining the bottom, and a tree far to heavily decorated with pompoms and sparkles to seem appropriate for a 23-year-old to be wearing, and a small snowman in the corner. Though behind me, he is beaming at me through the mirror. Mine is just a white snowman with ice skates and a carrot nose that you can squeeze. Which, of course, Simon does.

"Snow, stop that," I swat his hand away, though I'm smiling.

"Yours is worse."

"You know that's a lie," I push on multiple ornaments on his to emphasis.

"Mine is festive."

"Festively ridiculous."

He rolls his eyes and we get out of there to meet up with Bunce. She laughs at Simon and smirks at me victoriously and then we three leave to, an unknown by me, destination.

*******

"So, where are we going?"

"Dev said to meet up by the movie theatre."

"I'm not watching a movie with Dev! He's the loudest person, part from Snow, that I know," This results in Simon elbowing me on the side.

"Well, he didn't specify if we were actually watching the movie. So move it, Pitch," Bunce demands and elbows past me and Simon to walk ahead of us.

"Who pissed in her cereal," I mutter under my breath with makes Snow laugh and my heart quickens at the pace.

"Can you at least try to be civil?" He mutters back and hooks his arm in mine. Bunce has met up with a bloke I think I have seen before, but can't pinpoint when.

"Who's that?"

"Mikah. Baz. You knew that" Snow stares at me.

"I don't think I did."

"Baz! They've been together since like .... fourth year!"

"That's a bloody long time," I look away from the love declarations happening and to Simon. He has his coat - he put it on over the horrid sweater - huddled up tight around him and his hands in his pockets. If I didn't know better, I would say he's cold.

"You're freezing your knickers off," I smirk.

"And you're the ever charming gentleman as always," He smirks back and I am blinded by the flurry of brightness taking over his features. How does he bloody do that?

Instead of a remark, I plant my arm over his shoulders and bring him as close to me as physically possible. We might as well be one mass. He fits so perfectly in the crook of my elbow and now I'm suddenly contemplating why we came here instead of staying in the flat and spending the day in bed.

"Stop staring," He says so quietly, I only pick it up curtsey to the vampire hearing.

"Stop doing that."

"I'm not doing anything," I kiss his nose which has turned a blush pink in a result of the cold and, I would like to think, me.

"You- I - Penny," He casts a look ahead like he's afraid she might ground him for kissing a bloke. Or me. 

"Oh, I see," My arm slips off his shoulder and I pick up my pace. I should have known he won't be comfortable with this. I'm an idiot.

"No - wait - Baz," He takes a hold of my arm.

"Snow. We have a movie waiting," I wiggle free of his grip and fall into step with Penny and this Micah bloke. They are arguing about a film with a dragon slaughter scene.

"No. No. No. He pushed the blade into the side of the neck."

"No. Pen. It was the head."

"No. It was the neck."

"You were asleep through half the movie. How can you be so sure?"

"I watched that part, though. And I'm sure."

"But," Micah glances towards me and I give him a head shake. ' _You can't win this one_ ', "Fine. Your right. It was the neck," He huffs and Bunce kisses his cheek. It startles me because I have only seen her be like this around Snow. She was never the one for physical touch.

"Here we are," I see Snow wave to Dev from across the road. They exchange smiles as we get closer and Dev gives him a once over.

"Not bad, Snow. Not bad."

"You grew up well too. In a sense," He casts a cheeky smile at him and I want to place a bag over his face and huddle him away. He's not allowed to look at others like that. Even if we're quarreling.

"And apparently, you grew a sense of humor."

They laugh and banter for longer than necessary and by the time everyone is gathered around the front of the run-down cafe, Snow and Dev have already exchanged numbers.

Bloody brilliant.

"Okay, so I had to get us all together here because I have exciting news. Though first," He holds up a finger in great suspicion that makes me roll my eyes, "We need to eat!" Everyone cheers and nods in agreement and we all fall into step with each other on the pavement. It's like a bloody ridiculous band. I, being mortified and still heated up, tuck my chin into the collar of the jumper.

"Wait, so how long are you here for?"

"I think till the end of the class year."

"That's it?!"

I think Snow does something that passes for a shrug and Dev punches him lightly in the arm. I think about cutting it off and feeding it to the seagulls.

"You should stay longer. I'm sure Penny can do something."

"I'm not sure I'm welcome."

"If Baz is giving you trouble, let me know," I sneak a glance at them and find a view I wish to erase forever from my memory. Way to close. Like, nose touching close.

"Oh, B-Baz. O-h No. No. He -," I don't think I imagine the quick way his eyesight catches mine, "He's fine. I- I just don't have anything to offer."

Dev opens his mouth to answer, but some girl I'm sure we used to go to school with signals him over. He gives Snow an _'I'm sorry'_ smile and divulges another victim in his kindness act.

I touch my fingers lightly over the wand tucked into the hip of my jeans. Making sure I didn't miss place it, or lose it.

I look over to Snow, but before either of us can do anything, Dev shouts in victory and leads us to the inside of the restaurant. Apparently, he had reservations booked and everything. I guess this is something that might be of slight importance.

He quickly chats to the waiter that guards the front, and we are guided to a long table that is covered in a sheet of red fabric, which I think is a peculiar choice of table wear, and green napkins.

I try to find a seat as far from the terribleness of conversation, and Snow. But as luck would have it, he ends up on my left. I don't even think he recognizes my presence until the teacher - Quaraline? I think. Names are something one doesn't have to bother with, really - shuts her trap and yappers on to someone else. _Not_ that I notice.

Snow tugs at my sleeve, but I excuse myself and push my chair back and am out of the vicinity before another heart-wrenching word escapes his lips. Vampire reflexes.

I slam open the bathroom door and make a quick scan of the stalls. They're all empty. I know that being dramatic and stuck up isn't helping, but Snow is the first man I've been with since a drunken hook up a few years ago. I didn't even think vampires could get drunk. Though, it could just be a haze of loneliness mixed with an attraction to particular bronze haired, blue-eyed people.

I slap some cold water on my face, and my hair falls between my eyes. I let it.

"Baz," And there is the tugging I was just escaping from.

"Snow. I don't think you understand the protocol of exiting a situation."

"I didn't want you to feel - I didn't mean it like _that._ "

"Oh, so you weren't ashamed and trying to hide me like your dirty little secret."

"Baz - Merlin - _no!"_

"Snow. You have a funny way of showing affection."

"I- I didn't- I haven't-," He huffs in frustration. I think sometimes words aren't enough for him. I want to reach out and grab his hand as it falls back down from his unruly hair. I don't.

"Aren't you the charmer."

"Baz," He has his hands on my face and he tucks a lock of hair behind my ear. I think back to last night, this morning, the way his magic warms my cheeks. Against every natural instinct, I lean into his touch.

This is stupid. Someone could walk in and they would be greeted by the sight of two blokes having a weird moment.

But it is a moment because he kisses me and nothing else matters.

He bits my lower lip, and I slam him into the wall. We can't do this in a bathroom. When our friends are a few feet away. But he hooks his fingers into my belt loops and everything else is just background noise.

A growl escapes the back of my throat.

" _Baz._ "

"What?" My voice is muffled by the skin on his neck and the mole I use as a target.

"Wait," He says as he tilts his head to the right, granting permission for more skin.

"Snow, that's not what your body is saying."

"O-oh okay. Okay," He pulls me off him and we're both panting like we just ran a marathon. His cheeks are flushed, and _Crowley_ , if I could paint, it would be this picture.

"We need to get back," He points out, ruffling his hair and straightening my jumper. I ignore the skip in my pulse.

"No. We really don't."

"They will notice if we suddenly not return."

"They will notice you. But I could just leave."

"Please don't," And fucking shit it should not be possible to make your eyes that wide and blue.

"I hate you."

"Thank you. I will owe you now," He smirks and a bucket full of thoughts spray over me. I need cast a cleaning spell on my brain.

"We still haven't solved anything."

"Pftt _details_ ," He dusts his hand in the air like flipping away dust. I shake my head because he makes it so easy. And I think I like it.

We return to the table and the only one to notice is Bunce who winks at a blushing Snow. I smirk which earns me a swift kick in the shin.

**~~~**

**S I M O N**

The food is delicious, but then again, anything is better than leftovers from the dumpster. I don't want to think about it. But what I do think about is the fact that Baz isn't eating. I see him sneaking the food over to my plate and continue the conversation with Micah. I try to get his attention, but he swiftly ignores me.

When everyone has finished and are leaning back against the chairs clutching their stomach, Dev stands up. I almost forgot the reason he invited us here.

"Hey, people. So. The reason for this ... rendezvous. I- 'm getting married."

No one speaks and an awkward silence passes through the table.

"That's why you stuffed us till we couldn't breathe?" Baz retorts.

"You're supposed to be happy for me."

"Don't get me wrong, Dev, we are. But umm... couldn't we do this in less... dramatic fashion?"

"Oh yeah. And umm I might be leaving Watford. That's why I had to get all of us together. One last time, right?"

He looks like he might burst to tears and I feel for him. I now know him as the football coach instead of Baz's minions. He's gotten nicer, better at being him. I look around the table. There is the kid who casts spells with his belt buckle. There is a brown haired girl who I think was in Magic Words with us in seventh year. There are kids I haven't seen in years, yet I recognize. I feel my chest contract.

"Congratulations."

"Thank you, Penelope," He looks relieved enough to kiss her because conversation returns to the table. Except now it has the sad tone to it that makes every moment feel like it might be the last. Why did he have to do this on Christmas?

"Whose the girl, Dev?"

"Oh, she - she's here," He pulls up a small girl who has her hair in a loose wave and glasses that frame her eyes. She seems to contradict the loudness of Dev with the small whispers of her words. He smiles like she's the only thing in the room, and unconsciously I reach for Baz. His hands fit in mine like they have been waiting for me in an attempt to seem a coincidence. He rests his chin on my shoulder and his hair tickles my nose.

We need to get out of here.

Eventually, everyone gets up and we all just come to a conscious decision to part on the entrance of the restaurant.

Penny and Micah are going to be staying in his flat a few blocks over. And Dev gives me a big so tight I feel the air leave my lungs.

"You better be here when I come to visit Watford."

"I-I-"

"He will be," Baz says from behind me and grabs a hold of my arm, leading me away from them.

"Rude much?"

"Oh please. I helped you get away from another moment that would be socially embarrassing."

"I don't care."

"Well, I don't want to be known as the guy going out with the socially rejected."

"I am not- wait did you say going out. As in we're official?" I smile.

"No, I didn't."

"Baz there is nothing wrong with admitting to like me."

"Bold of you to assume I do."

"Well, you didn't exactly prove me wrong last night."

"I was under your magic."

"We both know I can't cast a spell that well."

"Shut up."

"Stop. You're going to kill me with the overwhelming romance."

"I do try."

He chuckles and I bring him closer to me. It was the type of night that made you want to cuddle under the stars. The kind to watch movies and make cookies. The kind where you didn't want to be alone. I fell in love with the way the streetlights highlighted his cheekbones and the easy way the smile left a glimmer over his lips. I wanted to kiss him slow under the rain and curl up on a couch with nothing but small chatter and the fire crackling.

I also wanted to know why I wanted that.

"Snow. You're staring."

"I know."

"Stop."

"But you're so pretty," He looks at me with an exaggerated look of shock.

"I am menacing, handsome, threatening, hot. I am _not_ pretty."

"Oh please. You're the prettiest person.'

"Snow. I'm going to slap you."

I abruptly stop and kiss him slow under a streetlamp. I want to. I want to do everything I can before I have to leave. I wanted to savor everything. This kiss was different. It was slow, and as I curled my arms around his neck, and his around my waist, I wanted to keep him here. Under my grip. Where I could feel the steady beat of his heart and the way his breath hitched as I twisted my head sideways. I wanted this so bad it hurt.

"You need to warn a bloke before you devour him."

"I thought you like the spontaneity."

"I do," And we made our way to the train station. 

✶✶✶

 


	8. Chapter 8

**✶✶✶**

**S I M O N**

We stumbled into my room and I flop down, face forward into the mattress.

"At least take your shoes off."

"It's _my_ bed."

"Yes but still."

I kick them off with my feet and curl up in a small cocoon. My limbs feel all hot and jittery from all the walking, magic, and Baz.

"Snow. Move."

"You move," I'm too tired to think, let alone move. He just picks up my legs and sits on the bottom of the bed, leaning against the wall.

"Did you ever think of me?"

"If you want me to compliment you, just ask."

"Baz I'm serious. Did you guys ever talk about me? I- I don't want to be egoistic. I'm just... curious. Did Penny mention me?"

"Simon. I think it's stupid of you to think we _didn't_. We tried to hard to find you. Simon, you scared the shit out of us."

"You didn't even know me. Or were friends with me."

"Simon. I lived with your crazy antics for 7 years. Almost every memory of Watford I have includes you. I know that you don't like your scones too hot or too cold. I know that you and Wellbelove didn't work out because you weren't sure, no matter the rumors. I know that your magic doesn't drunken my mind like everyone claims to happen. I know that you mummer in your sleep and I know that you like the room cold so you can pile up blankets when you sleep. Simon. I know you. Don't try to tell me otherwise."

I don't think I can function.

What the bloody hell doesn't he want me to say after that? I was never the one for words. And his hands are mindlessly drawing circles on my ankles, sending jolts through my entire body. I want him to know I feel the same way. I want him to know, but I don't have the words.

"Baz- I-"

"It's okay. I know. Too much."

"No. No. Stop doing that. Stop assuming the things I'm going to say. I - I'm not very good at this. But Baz. I really want to. I really really want to," I'm turned sideways and so when he looks at me, his eyes are soft and slightly dreamy. Like he's here, but also like we're in our own little place.

"Okay."

"Y-yeah. Okay."

We go to bed shortly after. Baz is already curled up when I plop down beside him. I know he's not asleep as he turns away from the wall to watch me make a fuss with the tie that's wrapped around my ankle.

"You should clean up."

"Maybe I could just ask you to do it."

"You wish. I'm not touching half the things laying on the floor here," He says as I tuck myself in beside him and he moves over to give me space. It's like our bodies already know the perfect way to mold to fit.

"Oh please. I promise there are no rodents."

"I think that moving shirt may have a different thing to say," I hastily flip my head over to look.

"You idiot," I slap his chest. No rodents. Of course.

"Night, Snow."

"Night, Baz."

*******

**B A Z**

The New Year's passes us, and when the school days start again, Simon moans relentlessly while getting dressed. Complaining about the 'unfortunate timings' and whatnot.

"I mean, can you blame teenagers for being so cranky?"

"Nope. But you're not a teenager anymore, Snow."

"Stop reminding me of my everlasting doom."

"What? And you call me dramatic," I roll my eyes and turn to be greeted by the sight of a shirtless Simon Snow, in only (my) joggers that lay low on his hip bones. He was a vision in the morning when the light came through the window and made his hair lighter and his eyes brighter.

"Are you purposefully trying to distract me?"

"I don't know. Is it working?"

"Perhaps," I wrap my arms around his torso that feel warm against my skin. His chest is sprinkled with freckles that I have spent nights admiring. They dust his skin in an impossible fashion that makes me weak in the knees.

Bloody Snow.

"Didn't you have class?"

"Shhh," I trail off momentarily distracted by the act of feverishly kissing his neck and all the way up to his lips.

"We can not make out before class. That is unethical."

"When did you care for ethics, Snow?"

"Because if I don't, we will not be making it to first class."

"Hmm sounds promising," And I continue to indulge in the beauty of kissing Simon Snow.

" _Baz_ ," He whines, and a shot of pleasure shots through me knowing that I can do that to him.

"Fine. Fine. I get it. You don't want to snog me anymore."

"Later though..."

"I'll be keeping you on account of that."

"Mhmm," He turns around and throughs on a jumper that takes away the view I ever so enjoy.

"So, I'll see you in third period."

"Look at us being school kids. Planning dates."

"Baz," He laughs, "Come on."

"Yes. Yes. You will be graced by my presence in a mere three hours."

"If I didn't know better. I would say, it seems like you would miss me."

"Well then someone needs to educate you," He laughs shoving me sideways as we make our way down the stairs to the Dining Hall.

"Are we ... telling people?"

"I don't know." I shrug.

"Are you going to?"

"Who would I tell?"

"Should I?"

"Snow, I'm not the master of this relationship."

"I just want to make sure you're okay with it."

"So you can gossip with Bunce?"

"Penny would throw up at the image of you snogging anyone."

"Them please tell her. And take a photograph," I smile at him, and see the way his eyes spark.

"See you in a ' _mere three hours_ '" He kisses me lightly, and runs ahead. Leaving me dizzy and flustered in the middle of the Lawn.

*******

**S I M O N**

First period is with Penny today. She gives me a quick overview and I make things up as I go along. The students all look like they would be anywhere else. I tell them that I understand which makes Penny shoot a glare at me.

Second period is outside with the P.E. instructor, and I have to mentor the students to make sure they don't bash each other with the magic ball and the obscure spells they keep shooting. I swear they made up a hundred new spells since the last time I was in a classroom. I pretend to know what I'm doing and when the period ends, I find out that there is a dorm in the Mummers House that is throwing a party. I don't tell any authority. It sounds like fun, though there were some things they mentioned I didn't quite get.

Then third period comes up and when I burst in, a few minutes after the bell because this classroom is as far away as they could make it, Baz is smirking leaning against the desk. The kids in the chairs look like they might burst out laughing like a balloon waiting to pop.

"What?"

"We made a bet. Sir said you wouldn't be here until five after," A redhead in the front comments.

"And did he win?"

"Yes," And the kids start giggling.

"Oh come one! I wasn't even that late."

"Snow. It's a bet. We don't hear excuses."

"Shut up," I bump my shoulder lightly against his and sit down on his chair with my feet propped up on the table. It's easier to be around Baz and in his class now that I know him better.

"So, today we will learn about sending messages through a different means."

"Wait, we're going to do bird class?!"

"Yes, Snow," Baz glares at my legs on his stacks of paper, "we are."

"Who are we going to send them to?" A boy from the back asks.

"We're going to keep the contact list within this classroom. I don't want anyone sending the birds to an anonymous individual. Do you understand?" He had his voice all strict and harsh and everyone nodded in agreement.

"So we are going to go outside since I don't particularly thrive in the idea of my classroom being covered in bird matter."

The kids got up in excited chatter and in a single form, we all made our way to a small part of the Great Lawn that was shadowed by a huge tree.

"So, there are a few birds scattered around here. You will write your message -I don't want to be finding the papers on the ground - and sending it upon the first bird that comes to you. It will know who to deliver it to if you perform the spell correctly."

"Will the birds get hurt is we do it wrong?"

"No. They just won't respond. So do it right. Understood?"

"Yes, Sir," Everyone said in a perfect chorus and the excited chatter spread through the class as they each grabbed a small piece of paper from me and started scribbling their messages.

A note dropped on to my legs as I sat back against the bottom trunk of the tree. And a laugh escaped my lips as I read the note, and looked up to meet Baz's eyes. He gave me a small smirk and continued his conversation with a student.

' _Nice glasses, Snow.'_

I had forgotten about them. I remember when I ran away from Watford, I remember I kept running into this same streetlight that was on my way home from the numerous different (failed) jobs I used to go have. One day, a lady just handed me a pair of these glasses and left without another word. I never saw her again, but she might as well have saved my life. I didn't run in front of moving cars, or lights, or buildings anymore. I spelled them to be the right number. And the only reason I even needed them was because I couldn't trust myself enough to spell my actual eyes, without anyone else around to fix it if it had gone to shit.

I looked up from the place I sat, and all the birds with letters hooked in their claws flew in the wind, trying to find the recipient. Kids were shouting **'A little bird told me'** and girls were giggling at the benches by the corner of the yard. I looked up to see Baz looking back. He just signaled to his watch to signal that time's up.

After settling down the kids, we left them there because it was lunch anyways and so a bunch of others would join them soon. As soon as we were a few feet away, I grabbed his hand and traced my thumb over his knuckles.

"Since when do you wear those?" He pushed the glasses so that they smashed up against my eyelashes.

"Since five years ago."

"You haven't worn then since you've been here."

"No, I did. Just not around you."

"Why?" He started swinging our hands back and forth that made me giddy.

"Because I thought you were going to make fun of me. And then I thought you were going to hate them," I shrug.

"They're adorable," I look at him wide-eyed.

"What?"

"You called me adorable."

"So?"

"You don't do that.'

"Well, I just did. Didn't I?"

I shake my head laughing and don't even think twice before opening the Dining Hall gates and striding in.

When the people start staring is when I notice that Baz and I still have our hands intertwined and not in a friendly manner. Our fingers are laced together and when Baz notices the whispers and stares, he doesn't pull away. He just continues tracing circles and pulls me down next to him on our table. Everyone greets us with nods, and the conversations flow again. Like nothing ever happened.

I smile and look over at Baz who gives me a smile I've only seen on him when we were alone in our room, or Christmas Day under the streetlights. It makes me eat the scones slightly more cheery and have a skip in my step ever so slightly. Just to know that I didn't dream this. This is all real, and he really just looked at me like that.

The next few weeks went by with sneaky remarks, slight flirting, and falling asleep with Baz's arms lightly wrapped around my torso and kissing him in the times we got alone. I would do it forever. It was my bliss.

I decided to talk to Penny about the chance of me staying here. Permanently. Baz kept telling me that I had nothing to worry about and she would be incredibly 'short-sighted' if she thinks that sending me back to that dump is the better option.

I knocked on the door beside the Headmistresses office, which is usually where Penny was if it wasn't in her room.

"Come in," She got sight of me, "Simon you know that you don't have to knock."

"Yeah but you're being all fancy with your office and position, I want you to feel fancy," She laughed.

"Well, I do feel _fancy."_

"I wanted to - I just- I mean it's totally okay if you don't agree. I mean. It's awkward I know. I swear I won't take it personally if you refuse but-"

"Are you going to ask me permission to stay at Watford?"

"Yeah," I shuffle from foot to foot and look at the scuffed toes of my shoes and think of asking Baz to spell that away for me.

"I thought that was already set?"

"Oh yeah. I mean. I know the contract said that I'm only here for-"

"No I mean, I thought you already knew that you can stay for as long as you want. I mean, I'm pretty sure the kids love you, we could make a small extra class for the one Dev left empty and you could teach ... whatever you were doing these past months. I guess you could call it Life Lessons with Simon."

"Maybe we can work on that name," I laughed of relief and contempt. I had somewhere to belong after so long. I felt like kissing the ground. I didn't.

"It seems pointless to even ask me. Simon, you know that Watford will always be here for you to call home."

"Yeah. Yeah, I know that now," I mummer and give her a hug before I leave. She muttered something about me smelling like sweat.

I raced down the front to the Weeping Tower and to the Lawn, I needed to tell Baz.

He wasn't in the Lawn or the Dining Hall, and a small simmer of panic rose up from a buried wound in my stomach. He was fine. There is no threat here anymore. I found Quarantine talking to the P.E. teacher.

"Have any of you seen Baz?"

"No. Sorry," Quarantine shook her head and gave me an apologetic smile. The other teacher did the same.

I raced away from them and found a girl from one of the classes that Baz taught, the redhead.

"Hey have you seen Ba- Mr. Pitch," I sounded weird on my lips. I wondered what Baz would think of my calling him Mr. Pitch.

"Oh yeah. He is coaching football out on the field."

"Thank you!" I shouted behind me as I raced to the field. I forgot why I was running when I saw the familiar bleachers of the football pitch and the players running off it towards the changing rooms.

"Hey, Snow," Baz called from the corner of the pitch, and I turned to be greeted by the sight of him wiping the sweat off his face with the bottom of his jersey. The muscles in his stomach tensed up and his hair flying with the wind around his face. It was a sight to behold.

"Oh my-!"

"Why are you panting?"

"O-oh," I shook my head trying not to focus on the urge to run my hands over his stomach all the way down to his hips, "Guess what?!"

"What?" He wasn't nearly as enthusiastic with his reply, sitting on the second row of bleachers and resting his hands on either side of his thighs.

Merlin.

"I get to stay," I give him my biggest most genuine smile.

"You finally talked to Bunce?"

"Yup."

"Should I grace you with the pleaser of saying ' _I told you so'?"_

"I would prefer you not," I laugh throwing my head back because I get to stay. I get to keep this. I loved it.

"I told you so," He smiles and kisses me lightly.

"So..."

"So..."

Before he could say anything else I dragged him by the arm all the way to my room. I opened the thumb lock with an ease that only came from the extreme wanting that took over my senses at this moment. I get to keep this. I was going to enjoy it.

I pushed Baz to the wall, shutting the door behind me with the toe of my shoe. Within seconds, his hands were in my hair and mine were up his shirt. Running my fingers across the soft pale of his chest and feeling the way his heart pulses and the way his breath tightened when I bit his lower lip. I wanted to feel that all the time.

I pulled his jersey over his head and ran my hands through his hair, letting it out of the small band he had put in. I secretly loved it, but I wanted to run my hands all over him. I wanted to take in everything about him till I was drunk, dizzy, and couldn't think of anything other than pale skin, black hair, and grey eyes.

He flipped me over so that he was pushing against me and yanked my jumper off with much more ease than I did his. His leg was pressed up between both of mine, and I could feel the hardness of him as he rubbed his hips against mine. I wanted more.

I pushed him back onto the bed and climbed up over him. He was looking at me as my hair fell over his eyes. I kissed him slow and gentle, slowing heating up as my hand went to the elastic of his shorts and pushed them down. I kissed him down his neck and nibbled on the skin until I was sure it had left a mark. He flipped me over again, and we were a mess of limbs and skin. So much skin. He fit perfectly in the crevice of my neck as he marked the skin. Slowly going lower down my stomach. He kissed around my hips and I involuntarily jerked up. He was torturing me. Slowly driving me over the edge.

I stopped kissing his shoulder blade and pushed away his hands to pull down my trousers. He kicked off his shoes and we were both panting in nothing but thin fabric left. It was like time slowed down for a second and then picked back up, at a faster pace.

Suddenly we were kissing, and I had pushed away his pants, as well as mine and I, was rubbing up against him. I flipped us over until I was leaning over him. He murmured something, presumably a lubricating spell, and was bring me closer until my prick was hovering over his hole.

" _Baz-"_

"If you stop now, I will cut off your dick."

That had been all that was left to be said.

I eased into him and heard him grunt under me. It just made my movements surer. More confidence and soon was easing in and out of him. Our breaths coming out in short pants as the only other sound in the room apart from skin slapping on skin.

" _Simon!"_

Baz dragged one of his hands away from my hair and down to stroke himself. His other moved away from my hair to my shoulder. I was holding onto the headboard, and running my hands down my torso.

*******

**B A Z**

"Baz- Baz - I'm going to-"

"Me too."

I shuddered and my eyes closed tight as I felt Simon collapse on top of me grunting. I arms fell down to my sides and he interlocked out fingers.

" _Wow_."

"Yeah," I replied with the same breathless whisper. It felt like the time to whispers. Words were too loud and harsh. The night sky painted the window outside and as Snow rolled over to my side, I wrapped an arm around him.

"Have you done that before?"

"No. Why?"

"You seemed to know what you were doing."

"Well, I wasn't doing much."

"Shut up," I _felt_ him blush as he tucked his face into the crook of my arm and I felt my body vibrate with his laughter. Or maybe it was just the consequence of having sex with Simon Snow. These things don't really come with a rule book.

We took a shower after that that consisted more of making out and bubbles flying everywhere. By the time Simon dressed, I spelled the bed clean and walked (kind of hobbled. Fuck Simon) to lie down against the wall. Watching him put on one of my sweats and come and join me. I was splashed with the smell of _him_ and I inhaled his scent as he lay with me, occasionally having small conversations.

I rolled a curl around my finger as we lay there with the night spilling through the window and our legs intertwined under the covers. I felt my skin heat at where it touched his. He was like a sunrise. All the light that brightened the air around him, and the flush of his cheeks as he gave me a shy smile that didn't resemble anything like the dominant character a few hours ago.

"Go to sleep."

"Yes, _Sir_!"

"Shut up," I pushed his face away with the whole of my palm.

"Oh please, you love me."

"You wish."

"I do," I whispered and sent shivers down my spine that no one else could.

"I love you."

"I love you too," Our declarations were whispered in soft mummers that only came from being here. In this moment. It was our own little world and I fell asleep feeling the way Simon smiled against my chest as I traced the length of his spine.

I was jittery all over. 

 

**✶✶✶**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... The End!...
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed this. It's the longest story I've posted, so I'm super nervous. But thank you all so much for reading. I appreciate each and every one of you. 
> 
> ♥︎


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